OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 
Of  ILLINOIS 


9-47 
Rl  4-LEe 

I9l€>,v.3 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA 


From  the  Earliest  Times  to  1882 


Volume  III 


I 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
URBANA 


HISTORY  of  RUSSIA 

From  the  Earliest  Times  to  1882 


BY 

ALFRED  RAMBAUD 

Chief  of  the  Cabinet  of  the  Minister  of  Public  Instruction  and 
Fine  Arts,  at  Paris ;  Corresponding  Member  of  the 
Academy  of  Sciences  of  Petrograd,  etc.,  etc. 

Translated  by  L.  B.  LANG 
Edited  and  Enlarged  by  NATHAN  HASKELL  DOLE 


IN  THREE  VOLUMES 
Volume  III 


This  work  has  been  crowned  by  the 
French  Academy 


THE  PAGE  COMPANY 
PUBLISHERS  BOSTON 


l 


Copyright ,  1882 
By  Estes  &  Latjriat 


MIL 
V.  3 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTEE  I. 

NICHOLAS  THE  FIRST. 

1825-  1855. 

The  December  Insurrection.  —  Administration  and  Reforms.  —  Literature  .  13-35 

CHAPTER  II. 

AFFAIRS  IN  ASIA  AND  THE  POLISH  INSURRECTION. 

1825-1855. 

Persian  War  (1826-1828). — First  Turkish  War;  Liberation  of  Greece  (1826- 

1829). — The  Russians  and  English  in  Asia.  — The  Polish  Insurrection  (1831)  36-71 


CHAPTER  III. 

NICHOLAS  THE  FIRST:  FOREIGN  RELATIONS. 

1825-1855. 

Hostility  against  France :  the  Eastern  Question.  —  Revolution  of  Eighteen  Hundred 

and  Forty -eight.  —  Intervention  in  Hungary . 72-84 


CHAPTER  IY. 

THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 

1853-1855. 

Louis  Napoleon.  —  Change  in  the  English  Cabinet.  —  Ministry  of  Lord  Aberdeen.  — 

The  Holy  Sites. —  Conversations  between  the  Emperor  Nicholas  and  Sir  George 
Hamilton  Seymour . 85  - 109 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 

1853-1855. 

Prince  Menshikof  at  Constantinople.  —  Lord  Stratford  de  Redcliffe.  —  Colonel  Rose. 

—  M.  Benedetti.  —  The  French  Fleet  at  Salamis.  —  Threatening  Demands  of 
Prince  Menshikof.  —  Resistance  of  the  Porte.  —  The  Prince’s  Departure.  —  The 
French  and  English  Squadrons  at  Besika.  —  Diplomatic  Conflict.  —  Official 
Mediation  of  Austria.  —  The  Russians  cross  the  Pruth.  —  The  Vienna  Note.  — 
Turkish  Modifications.  —  Warlike  Feelings.  —  Napoleon  the  Third.  —  Intcr- 
Tiews  at  01miit'T.  and  Warsaw,  —  The  Porte  declares  War  ,  .  101  -  126 


I  I  62434 


VI 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  CRIMEAN  WA*. 

1853-1855. 

Campaign  of  the  Danube.  —  Austrian  Interests.  —  Final  Diplomatic  Efforts.  —  Aflhir 
of  Sinope.  —  The  French  and  English  Fleets  in  the  Black  Sea.  —  Diplomatic 
Rupture.  —  Count  Orlof  at  Vienna.  —  Letters  of  Napoleon  the  Third  and  the 
Emperor  Nicholas.  —  Austria  and  Prussia  agree  with  France  and  England  to 
maintain  the  Turkish  Empire . 127  -  144 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 

1853-1855. 

Military  Arrangements  of  France  and  England.  —  The  Allied  Annies  at  Gallipoli  and 
Varna.  —  Siege  of  Silistria.  —  Bombardment  of  Odessa.  —  Expedition  into  the 
Dobrudsha  :  the  Cholera.  —  The  Crimea.  —  Battle  of  the  Alma.  —  Sevastopol  145  -  173 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 

1855  - 1856. 

Accession  of  Alexander.  —  End  of  the  Crimean  War.  —  Treaty  of  Paris  .  .  174-  206 

CHAPTER  IN. 

ALEXANDER  THE  SECOND  AND  THE  REFORMS. 

1856-  1877. 

Imperial  Manifestoes  and  Decrees.  — The  Act  of  the  Nineteenth  of  February,  Eighteen 
Hundred  and  Sixty-one :  Judicial  Refonns ;  Local  Self-government.  —  The  Polish 
Insurrection.  —  Intellectual  Movement :  Material  Progress  :  Education  .  207  -  256 

CHAPTER  X. 

LITERATURE  AND  ART  DURING  THE  REIGN  OF  ALEXANDER  THE  SECOND. 

1856-1880. 

The  Natural  and  Realistic  Schools.  —  Influence  of  the  French  Novelists.  —  The  His¬ 
torical  Drama  and  Novel.  —  History.  —  Periodicals.  — The  Artistic  and  Scien¬ 
tific  Movement . .  257  -  28l 


CHAPTER  XI. 

ALEXANDER  THE  SECOND. 

1856  - 1880. 

The  Advance  of  Russian  Power  beyond  the  Caucasus.  —  Gortchakof  s  Circular  Note. 

—  Shamil  and  the  Circassians.  —  Central  Asia.  —  The  Khanates.  —  The  Khivan 
Expeditious.  —  Relations  with  China,  Japan,  and  the  United  States  .  282  -  808 


CONTENTS. 


vn 


CHAPTER  XII. 

ALEXANDER  THE  SECOND. 

European  Relations  from  1856  until  1877. 

Austria  and  Italy.  —  Prussia  and  Denmark.  —  Imperial  Interviews;  the  Franco- 
Prussian  War. — The  Prussian  Alliance.  —  Gortchakofs  Circular  Note  of 
Eighteen  Hundred  and  Seventy-one.  —  Reorganization  of  the  Army  .  309  -  324 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  EASTERN  QUESTION. 

1875-1877. 

The  Herzegovinian  and  Bosnian  Insurrection.  —  Count  Andrassy’s  Note.  — The  Turk¬ 
ish  Massacres.  —  Diplomatic  Measures.  —  The  Berlin  Memorandum.  —  Events 
at  Constantinople.  —  The  Serbian  War .  325  -  346 

CHAPTER  XIY. 

THE  TURKO-RUSSIAN  WAR. 

1877. 

Russia^  Declaration  of  War.  —  The  Passage  of  the  Danube.  —  The  Advance  across 
the  Balkans  ;  Shipka  Pass.  —  Capture  of  Nikopolis.  —  Repulse  at  Plevna.  — 

Battle  of  Shipka  Pass.  —  Operations  on  the  Lorn.  — Third  Battle  of  Plevna  347  -  368 

CHAPTER  XV. 

THH  TURKO-RUSSIAN  WAR. 

1877. 

The  Campaign  in  Asia.  —  Reverses.  —  Battle  of  Aladja-Dagh.  —  Storming  of  Kars.  — 

Passage  of  the  Balkans.  —  Advance  upon  Constantinople.  — End  of  the  War  369  -  381 

CHAPTER  XYI. 

ASSASSINATION  OF  THE  EMPEROR. 

1881. 

Popular  Discontent.  —  Assassination  of  the  Emperor .  382  -  38? 


* 


INDEX 


389 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


VOLUME  III 

PAGE 

Nicholas  I  ( See  page  72)  .  .  .  Frontispiece 

Khlopitski  .........  55 

General  View  op  Warsaw  prom  Praga  ...  68 

Count  Orlof . 138 

Balaklava  .........  163 

A  Steamboat  on  the  River  Volga  ....  251 

Count  Leop  Tolstoi . 266 

Russian  Soldiers  .......  321 

Shipka  Pass  . . 362 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


CHAPTER  I. 


NICHOLAS  THE  FIRST, 


1825  -  1855. 


The  December  Insurrection.  —  Administration  and  Reforms. — 

Literature. 


THE  DECEMBER  INSURRECTION. 

CCORDING  to  the  law  of  primogeniture,  Alexander’s 


il.  successor  should  have  been  Konstantin  Pavlovitch,  who 
in  eighteen  hundred  and  twenty  had  been  divorced  from  his 
wife  Anna  Teodorovna,  in  order  to  marry  the  Polish  Countess 
Ioanna  Grudzinska,  afterwards  created  Princess  Lovitch.  An 
official  manifesto  issued  at  the  same  time  formulated  the  prin¬ 
ciple  that  the  right  of  succession  to  the  throne  could  not  be 
imparted  to  the  children  of  any  member  of  the  Imperial  fam¬ 
ily  who  married  out  of  a  royal  house.  Konstantin,  two  years 
later,  addressed  a  letter  to  Alexander  renouncing  the  crown  in 
these  words :  “  Being  conscious  that  I  have  neither  the  gen¬ 
ius,  talents,  nor  energy  necessary  for  my  elevation  to  the  sov¬ 
ereign  dignity  to  which  my  birth  might  entitle  me,  I  beg  your 
Imperial  Majesty  to  transfer  this  right  to  him  to  whom  it 
falls  next  in  succession,  and  thus  establish  forever  a  firm 
basis  for  the  empire.”  Alexander  immediately  accepted  his 
renunciation,  and  ordered  Philaret,  Archbishop  and  subse¬ 
quently  Metropolitan  of  Moscow,  to  draw  up  a  manifesto 


14 


HISTOEY  OE  EUSSIA. 


[Chap.  I. 


which  sanctioned  the  resolution  taken  by  Konstantin  and 
acknowledged  his  second  brother,  the  Grand  Duke  Nikolai, 
or  Nicholas,  as  his  successor.  This  document,  signed  at 
Tsarskoe-Selo  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  August,  eighteen 
hundred  and  twenty-three,  was  deposited  in  the  Uspienski 
Sobor,  or  Cathedral  of  the  Assumption,  in  Moscow,  but  was 
kept  a  profound  secret  even  from  Nicholas  himself. 

The  news  of  Alexander’s  death  was  received  in  Warsaw 
some  time  before  it  reached  Saint  Petersburg,  and  Konstantin 
hastened  to  write  a  formal  confirmation  of  the  act  of  eighteen 
hundred  and  twenty -two,  which  he  sent  to  Nicholas  by  his 
brother  Mikhail.  Nicholas,  on  the  other  hand,  as  soon  as 
he  learned  of  his  brother’s  death,  took  the  oath  of  allegiance 
to  Konstantin,  and  obliged  the  army  and  the  councillors  of 
the  empire  to  do  the  same.  He  also  despatched  a  letter  to 
Warsaw  urging  the  new  Emperor  to  come  immediately  to 
Saint  Petersburg.  The  Tsesarevitch  replied  that  his  deter¬ 
mination,  which  had  been  consecrated  by  Alexander,  was 
immovable,  and  that  everything  must  be  arranged  in  accord¬ 
ance  with  Alexander’s  will.  It  was  only  on  the  twenty-fourth 
of  December  that  the  despatch  from  Konstantin,  reiterating 
his  formal  renunciation  of  the  throne,  reached  Nicholas  and 
put  an  end  to  his  indecision.  Pie  then  published  a  mani¬ 
festo,  setting  forth  the  circumstances  which  led  to  his  unex¬ 
pected  accession,  and  claiming  the  allegiance  of  his  subjects. 

This  contest  of  generosity,  if  generosity  it  was,  contrasting 
so  strongly  with  the  ambitious  habits  and  the  political  revo¬ 
lutions  of  the  eighteenth  century,  cost  the  empire  dear.  Dur¬ 
ing  the  three  weeks’  interregnum  the  minds  of  the  people 
became  troubled  and  uncertain  ;  they  did  not  know  whom 
to  obey.  Such  a  crisis  offered  an  opportunity  for  those  who 
were  inclined  to  revolutionary  measures. 

Had  Colonel  Pavel  Pestel  been  at  the  head  of  the  Society 
of  the  North,  and  possessed  the  full  confidence  of  his  asso¬ 
ciates,  this  perplexity  of  public  opinion  could  have  been  used 


1825-1855.] 


NICHOLAS  I. 


15 


to  terrible  advantage.  Pestel  was  an  ardent  revolutionist,  but 
he  saw  clearly  that  it  would  take  years  to  reorganize  society 
upon  a  new  and  republican  basis.  lie  was  convinced  that 
first  of  all  the  Imperial  family  must  be  put  out  of  the  way, 
and  that  the  land  must  be  divided  among  the  people.  The 
associates  of  the  North  distrusted  Pestel,  they  feared  his 
ambition  ;  it  was  said  that  he  was  a  Napoleon  rather  than 
a  Washington.  In  eighteen  hundred  and  twenty-four  Pestel 
himself  went  to  Saint  Petersburg  and  tried  to  unite  the  va¬ 
rious  political  societies.  He  showed  them  that  they  must 
begin  with  a  complete  overturn  of  existing  institutions  ;  that 
the  Emperor  and  his  whole  family  should  be  put  to  death, 
and  that  the  Senate  and  Holy  Synod  should  be  obliged  to 
proclaim  the  new  form  of  government.  Pestel  did  not,  how¬ 
ever,  succeed  in  persuading  them  to  adopt  his  plans.  When 
he  returned  to  his  regiment,  he  found  it  difficult  to  restrain 
the  turbulent  young  officers  who  were  additionally  excited  by 
the  removal  of  Colonel  Shveikovski  from  his  regiment.  More¬ 
over,  the  members  belonging  to  the  Society  of  the  South  and 
the  United  Slavs  were  becoming  unwieldy,  and  though  there 
was  as  yet  no  system  of  secret  government  police,  still  the 
danger  of  detection  was  imminent. 

The  Society  of  the  North,  existing  partly  in  Saint  Peters¬ 
burg  and  partly  in  Moscow,  was  composed  in  large  measure 
of  government  officials  and  members  of  the  aristocracy. 
Everything  that  was  done  in  the  palace  was  immediately 
announced  to  the  conspirators.  It  was  known  that  the 
senators  were  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  Nicholas  on 
the  twenty-sixth  of  December.  The  Society  of  the  North 
resolved  to  act. 

When,  on  the  morning  of  the  fatal  day,  the  oath  was  admin¬ 
istered  to  the  troops,  the  Chevalier  Guard,  the  Preobrazhenski, 
the  Semenovski,  and  several  other  regiments  offered  no  objec¬ 
tion,  but  some  of  the  officers  belonging  to  the  regiments  of 
Moscow  prevailed  upon  their  men  not  to  swear  allegiance  to 


16 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  I. 


Nicholas,  representing  to  them  that  the  news  of  Konstantin’s 
resignation  was  false,  that  the  Tsesarevitch  was  a  prisoner  in 
chains,  and  that  this  second  oath  exacted  of  them  was  a  sac¬ 
rilege.  Alexander  Bestuzhef,  one  of  the  most  active  of  the 
revolutionary  society,  who  chanced  to  be  present,  assured 
them  that  he  had  been  sent  from  Warsaw  with  orders  to 
prevent  the  troops  from  taking  the  oath  to  Nicholas.  The 
conspirators  further  inflamed  the  passions  of  the  soldiery  by 
telling  them  that  the  Tsar  Konstantin  considered  them  his 
favorite  regiment,  and  was  going  to  increase  their  pay.  They 
were  ordered  to  resist  any  one  who  was  unfaithful  to  Konstan¬ 
tin,  and  to  load  their  muskets  with  ball. 

General  Fride  ricks,  attempting  to  approach  his  regiment,  was 
severely  wounded  by  Prince  Shtchepin,  who  seized  the  colors, 
and  shouting,  “  Hurrah  for  the  Emperor  Konstantin  !  ”  led  the 
way  to  the  Place  of  the  Senate.  Some  of  the  conspirators 
raised  the  cry,  “  Long  live  the  Constitution  !  ”  but  this  idea 
was  meaningless  to  the  masses ;  and,  according  to  the  mo¬ 
narchical  historians,  the  ignorant  soldiers  believed  that  Konsti- 
tutsia  was  the  name  of  Konstantin’s  wife. 

The  Emperor  was  informed  that  the  Moscow  regiment  was 
in  complete  insurrection,  and  that  General  Eridericks  and 
General  Shenshin  had  been  wounded  while  attempting  to 
oppose  the  movement.  He  saw  that  the  time  had  come  for 
him  to  act  without  a  moment’s  hesitation.  Without  stop¬ 
ping  to  put  on  his  cloak,  he  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  a 
company  of  the  Finland  Life  Guards  which  was  on  duty  at 
the  Winter  Palace,  and  marched  to  the  principal  gateway, 
where  a  large  crowd  had  collected.  Here  Nicholas,  in  order 
to  give  the  battalions  time  to  form,  read  in  a  slow7  and  de¬ 
liberate  voice  the  manifesto  which  announced  his  accession. 
Then,  claiming  the  loyalty  and  good-will  of  the  people,  he 
persuaded  them  to  disperse.  The  military  insurgents  thus 
found  themselves  deprived  of  assistance  from  the  masses,  who, 
when  they  learned  from  the  Emperor’s  own  lips  the  true  state 


1325  -1855.] 


NICHOLAS  I. 


17 


of  affairs,  readily  fell  into  their  old  habits  of  passive  obe¬ 
dience. 

The  other  regiments  of  the  guard  and  nearly  all  the  garri¬ 
son,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  which  had  been  made  to  tamper 
with  their  fidelity,  remained  unaffected,  and  the  Preobrazhen- 
ski  regiment,  forming  with  great  rapidity,  hastened  to  the 
palace,  where  they  were  harangued  by  the  Emperor,  and  in 
return  promised  to  be  faithful  to  the  death. 

The  rebels,  occupying  the  Place  of  the  Senate  with  serried 
ranks,  allowed  no  one  to  pass  unchallenged.  Miloradovitch, 
Governor-General  of  the  city,  attempted  to  reason  with  them. 
He  showed  them  a  sword  which  Konstantin  had  presented  to 
him,  and  he  argued  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  be  a 
traitor  to  his  old  friend  the  Grand  Duke.  This  speech  and 
the  sight  of  the  brave  old  hero  of  fifty  battles  began  to  move 
the  soldiers,  when  Kakhovski,  suddenly  approaching,  shot  him 
in  the  side  and  mortally  wounded  him.  Several  shots  were 
also  fired  at  General  Yoinof,  who  attempted  to  address  the 
insurgents.  About  the  same  time  the  marines  of  the  guard, 
seduced  by  their  officers,  joined  the  mutinous  Moscow  regi¬ 
ment.  The  Emperor  was  obliged  to  send  for  reinforcements. 
He  was  even  shot  at  as  he  attempted  to  reconnoitre.  Prince 
Orlof  was  then  commanded  to  charge  with  the  cavalry ;  but 
as  the  rebels  were  in  a  dense  mass,  they  easily  repulsed  the 
attack.  Several  of  the  foreign  ministers  begged  leave  to  join 
the  Emperor’s  suite  in  order  to  show  the  people  that  the  legal¬ 
ity  of  his  claim  was  countenanced  by  them,  but  Nicholas  sent 
back  word  that  this  was  merely  a  family  affair  in  which  Eu¬ 
rope  had  no  concern.  A  portion  of  the  grenadiers  of  the  Life 
Guard,  upon  hearing  the  noise  of  the  musket-shots,  were  in¬ 
duced  by  their  officers  to  pass  over  to  the  side  of  Konstantin, 
and  Lieutenant  Panof  was  only  by  an  accident  prevented  from 
getting  possession  of  the  Winter  Palace.  The  insurgents,  still 
more  emboldened  by  their  continual  reinforcements  coming 
to  them,  kept  up  an  irregular  but  violent  firing,  and  refused 

VOL.  III.  2 


18 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  I. 


to  listen  to  the  intercession  of  the  Grand  Duke  Mikhail,  who 
rode  up  to  them  at  the  risk  of  his  life,  and  begged  of  them 
to  follow  his  example  and  take  the  oath  to  his  brother  the 
Emperor.  One  last  measure  of  peace  remained.  Seraphim, 
Metropolitan  of  Saint  Petersburg,  and  Evgeni,  Metropolitan 
of  Kief,  were  at  the  Winter  Palace,  in  order  to  perform  the 
Te  Deum  which  had  been  appointed  for  that  day.  The 
Emperor  resolved  to  try  the  influence  of  the  Church  upon 
the  rebels,  and  sent  for  the  prelate  to  appeal  to  their  religious 
sentiments.  Although  Colonel  Stiirler  fell  at  his  very  feet 
by  the  pistol  of  Kakhovski,  the  murderer  of  Miloradovitch,  the 
venerable  metropolitan,  undaunted,  advanced  toward  the  rebels 
and  tried  to  bring  them  to  reason  by  calling  upon  God  to 
witness  the  truth  of  his  words.  The  leaders  of  the  revolt 
interrupted  him  with  cries  that  Konstantin  was  their  lawful 
Tsar,  and  that  this  was  not  the  affair  of  a  churchman  who 
could  perjure  himself  by  taking  an  oath  to  two  different 
Emperors  in  one  week.  Shots  were  fired  at  the  metropolitan 
in  spite  of  his  sacerdotal  robes,  and  he  received  four  balls  in 
his  mitre.  His  efforts  remained  fruitless  ;  he  was  obliged  to 
retire  to  save  his  life. 

It  was  now  three  o’clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  the  short 
wintry  day  was  fast  drawing  to  a  close.  Nicholas  sent  Gen¬ 
eral  Sukhozanet  once  more  to  promise  full  pardon  to  all  but 
the  ringleaders  if  they  would  lay  down  their  arms,  but  this 
last  appeal  was  rejected.  All  attempts  at  conciliation  having 
been  in  vain,  the  Emperor  ordered  the  soldiers  to  direct  the 
cannon  against  the  barricades  which  had  been  hastily  raised. 
A  few  rounds  sufficed  to  scatter  the  crowd.  The  Senate 
Square  was  cleared.  The  revolt  was  crushed.  The  Preo- 
brazhenski  and  Semenovski  regiments  immediately  started 
in  pursuit  of  the  fugitives.  Five  hundred  were  taken  pris¬ 
oners,  and  during  the  night  many  more  surrendered  at  dis¬ 
cretion.  Prince  Trubetskoi  who  was  the  nominal  head  of 
the  conspiracy,  but  had  not  appeared  during  the  eventful 


1825-1855.] 


NICHOLAS  I. 


19 


day,  was  taken  at  the  house  of  his  brother-in-law,  and  all  his 
papers,  compromising  many  members  of  the  Society,  were 
seized  by  Count  Nesselrode. 

At  seven  in  the  morning,  Nicholas  returned  victorious  to 
his  palace.  Alexander  Herzen  says  :  “  The  conspirators  did 
not  succeed ;  that  is  all  that  can  be  said  ;  but  success  was 
not  out  of  the  range  of  possibility.  How  would  it  have 
been  if  the  conspirators  had  assembled  the  soldiers,  not  on 
the  morning  of  the  twenty-sixth,  but  at  midnight,  and  if 
they  had  used  the  forces  at  their  disposition  in  order  to  sur¬ 
round  the  Winter  Palace,  when  there  was  no  suspicion  of  any 
trouble  ?  What  would  have  been  the  result  if  the  conspira¬ 
tors,  instead  of  forming  in  a  square,  had  attacked  the  troops 
guarding  the  palace,  who  were  as  yet  undecided  and  irreso¬ 
lute  ?  ” 

The  same  night  Pavel  Pestel,  two  Muravief  brothers,  and 
ten  other  members  of  the  Society  of  the  South  were  arrested 
by  General  Dibitch  and  General  Tchernichef,  who  were  with 
Alexander  when  De  Witt  brought  the  confirmation  of  the 
conspiracy.  When  the  officers  of  the  United  Slavs  heard 
this  news  they  immediately  collected  several  companies  of 
soldiers  and  proceeded  to  liberate  the  prisoners.  Pestel  had 
been  removed,  but  they  set  the  others  free.  Sergi  Muravief 
and  Bestuzhef-Riumin  put  themselves  at  the  head  of  the  sol¬ 
diers,  and  with  the  assistance  of  part  of  the  regiment  of 
Tchernigof  occupied  Yasilkof  and  marched  against  Kief ; 
but  at  the  village  of  Ustinovka  they  encountered  General 
Geismar,  who  received  them  with  a  discharge  of  grape-shot. 
Sergi  Muravief  was  severely  wounded.  A  cavalry  charge 
put  the  revolted  companies  to  flight.  Seven  hundred  men 
laid  down  their  arms,  and  nearly  all  the  leaders  were  made 
prisoners. 

Nicholas  granted  a  disdainful  pardon  to  Prince  Trubetskoi, 
who  had  caused  the  failure  of  the  conspiracy  by  his  cowardice 
and  his  fickle  policy.  He  showed  a  certain  clemency  to  the 


20 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap,  L 


majority  of  the  insurgents,  but  a  hundred  and  twenty-one, 
“  the  elite  of  all  that  was  civilized  and  truly  noble  in  Russia,5' 
were  brought  before  a  commission  consisting  of  Alexander 
Tatishtchef,  the  minister  of  war,  the  Grand  Duke  Mikhail, 
Prince  Galitsuin,  Kutusof,  military  governor  of  Saint  Peters¬ 
burg,  Alexander  Tchernichef,  and  several  others.  The  poet 
Konrad  Ruileef,  the  real  head  of  the  conspiracy,  on  being 
brought  before  this  commission,  said :  “It  was  in  my  power 
to  arrest  the  whole  conspiracy,  but  I  urged  immediate  action. 
I  am  the  chief  author  of  the  events  of  December  twenty-sixth. 
If  any  one  deserves  death  for  this  day,  it  is  I.55  A  minute 
inquiry  and  many  confessions  enabled  Nicholas  to  find  the 
threads  of  the  plot.  The  “  traitors,55  as  they  were  called,  not 
having  succeeded,  were  punished  more  or  less  severely.  Five 
of  them,  Pestel,  Ruileef,  Sergi  Muravief-Apostol,  Bestuzlief- 
Riumin,  and  Kakhovski,  the  assassin  of  Miloradovitch,  were 
condemned  to  be  hanged.  They  did  honor  to  their  cause 
by  the  courage  with  which  they  faced  an  ignominious  pen¬ 
alty,  made  doubly  cruel  by  the  awkwardness  of  their  execu¬ 
tioners.  Ruileef  said,  after  his  condemnation,  “  The  zeal  of 
my  patriotism  and  my  love  for  my  country  may  have  de¬ 
ceived  me,  but  as  my  actions  have  been  guided  by  no  per¬ 
sonal  interest  or  ambition,  I  die  without  fear.55  Pestel,  the 
energetic  dictator  of  the  South,  valued  his  life  as  of  small 
consequence  in  comparison  with  the  safety  of  his  Russian 
Code.  “  I  am  certain,55  he  said,  “  that,  sooner  or  later,  Russia 
will  find  in  this  book  a  refuge  against  violent  commotions. 
My  greatest  error  is  that  I  tried  to  gather  the  harvest  before 
sowing  the  seed.55 

Many  of  the  ideas  to  which  these  generous-souled  men 
became  martyrs  were  indeed  premature  in  a  country  like 
Russia,  but  some  were  destined  to  survive  their  originators, 
and  to  be  carried  into  execution  by  the  very  power  which 
they  defied.  They  demanded  the  abolition  of  serfdom,  the 
absolute  independence  of  the  peasants,  greater  equality  of 


1825-  1855.] 


NICHOLAS  I. 


21 


rights,  more  stability  in  the  law.  In  spite  of  their  mistakes, 
which  they  expiated  with  their  lives,  they  proved  that  there 
existed  in  Russia  men  capable  of  dying  for  liberty.  “  I 
knew  beforehand,”  said  Ruileef,  “  that  this  enterprise  would  be 
my  destruction,  but  I  could  not  any  longer  endure  the  sight 
of  my  country  under  the  yoke  of  despotism  :  the  seed  which 
I  have  sown  will  germinate  erelong,  and  bring  forth  fruit.” 

This  abortive  conspiracy  was  in  certain  respects  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  regeneration.  Many  of  the  old  dekabrists,  or  men  of 
December,  were,  in  letters,  arts,  and  political  philosophy,  the 
glory  of  their  country,  and  were  able  to  advance  as  far  as  it 
was  practicable  by  other  means  the  work  which  they  at  that 
time  began.  The  revolution  of  eighteen  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  gave  an  impetus  to  the  country  that  the  thirty  years'  reign 
of  Nicholas  could  not  destroy. 

ADMINISTRATION  AND  REFORMS. 

Nicholas,  whose  reign  was  thus  inaugurated  by  the  sup¬ 
pression  of  a  wide-spread  revolution,  was  to  be  throughout  his 
life  the  indomitable  enemy  of  all  that  was  likely  to  favor  the 
growth  of  popular  liberty.  In  Europe  as  well  as  in  Russia 
he  stood  forth  as  the  champion  of  conservative  principles.  If 
he  carried  on  the  work  of  his  brother  Alexander,  it  was  the 
Alexander  of  later  years,  when  the  grand  ideas  of  innovation 
which  had  possessed  his  soul  in  eighteen  hundred  and  one 
were  all  extinguished,  when  his  liberal  sympathies  and  his 
humane  scruples  were  long  ago  forgotten.  Nicholas,  with 
his  colossal  stature,  his  imposing  presence,  his  mystic  pride, 
his  infatuation  for  the  role  of  a  pontiff-king,  his  iron  will,  his 
power  of  work,  his  taste  for  even  the  petty  details  of  gov¬ 
ernment,  his  passion  for  military  minutiae,  was  a  terrible 
incarnation  of  autocracy.  Always  buttoned  tight  in  his  uni¬ 
form  and  playing  his  part  before  the  people,  Nicholas,  the 
“  crowned  Sergeant !  ”  held  in  check  the  mighty  forces  which 
would  have  advanced  Russia  far  on  the  path  of  modern  civili- 


22 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  I. 


zation.  As  it  was,  his  reign  was  a  constant  protest  against 
the  progress  of  the  world.  He  kept  up  a  perpetual  struggle 
to  repress  the  living  forces  of  humanity,  to  overcome  the  un- 
restrainable,  invincible  advance  of  the  mind.  He  could  not 
be  an  absolute  obstacle  to  progress.  He  could  act  only  as 
a  drag  upon  the  wheels.  When  his  power  broke,  under  its 
ruins  was  seen  a  new  world  which  had  grown  to  maturity 
without  his  knowledge. 

One  of  the  first  cares  of  Nicholas  was  to  take  up  the  work 
of  codifying  the  Russian  laws,  which  had  been  so  often  begun 
by  his  predecessors  :  by  Peter  the  Great  with  the  help  of  the 
Germanic  laws ;  by  Catherine  the  Second  with  her  great  legis¬ 
lative  commission ;  by  Alexander  with  Speranski’s  almost 
Napoleonic  project.  Nicholas  himself  could  only  collect  the 
materials,  for  it  was  an  impossibility  that  the  Russian  laws 
should  be  codified  until  society,  regenerated  by  the  emanci¬ 
pation,  became  established  in  its  final  form. 

In  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty  appeared  the  “  Complete 
Collection  of  the  Laws  of  the  Russian  Empire,”  of  which  the 
Ulozhenie  of  Alexis  Mikhailovitch  formed  the  basis.  This 
was  followed  in  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-eight  by  the 
“  Collection  of  Existing  Laws,”  compiled  after  a  systematic 
scheme  which  was  intended  provisionally  to  make  legislation 
more  consistent,  and  introduce  greater  rapidity  into  the  action 
of  the  courts.  It  was  time,  for  two  million  eight  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  causes  were  declared  to  be  pending,  and 
one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  thousand  persons,  committed 
for  trial,  were  still  waiting  judgment.  In  eighteen  hundred 
and  forty-nine  was  published  the  Code  for  the  trial  of  crimes 
and  misdemeanors.  Tribunals  of  trade  were  established  in 
order  that  commercial  affairs  might  be  more  promptly  de¬ 
spatched. 

In  the  reign  of  Peter  the  Great  the  English  law  of  entail 
was  borrowed,  with  certain  modifications.  Anna  Ivanovna 
suppressed  it  on  the  ground  that  it  was  opposed  to  Russian 


1825-1855.] 


NICHOLAS  L 


23 


customs.  Nicholas  partially  re-established  it  by  granting 
permission  to  the  father  of  the  family  to  make  use  of  it  if 
he  pleased.  The  practice  of  the  praviozh,  or  forcible  dis¬ 
training  for  debt,  still  existed  among  the  Don  Cossacks ;  it 
was  now  abolished.  Merchants,  anxious  to  get  into  the  ranks 
of  the  nobility,  thronged  to  secure  office  in  the  public  service ; 
Nicholas,  to  turn  their  ambition  into  a  different  channel  and 
at  the  same  time  to  give  them  equal  advantages,  created  a 
new  subdivision  in  the  class  inhabiting  the  towns,  —  that  of  the 
chief  citizens,  who  enjoyed  the  following  prerogatives  i  Exemp¬ 
tion  from  the  poll  tax, '-conscription, jmcMforporal  punishment  • 
the  right  to  take  part  in  the  assessment  of  the  landed  prop¬ 
erty  of  the  town,  and  the  right  of  being  elected  to  the  com¬ 
munal  offices  of  the  same  rank  as  those  open  to  the  merchants 
of  the  first  guilds.  All  might  be  admitted  among  the  chief 
citizens  who  had  a  certificate  of  secondary  studies,  a  student’s 
diploma,  or  that  of  a  university  student  eligible  for  the  degree 
of  Master  of  Arts,  or  who  were  free  artists  having  a  certificate 
from  the  Academy  of  Fine  Arts.  Nicholas  here  revived  one 
of  the  traditions  of  Catherine  the  Second,  who  attempted  to 
constitute  a  third  estate  at  the  same  time  with  a  new  nobility. 
He  tried  to  regulate  the  mode  of  procedure  used  by  the  assem¬ 
blies  of  peasants  in  the  rural  communes,  and  introduce  the 
custom  of  voting  with  white  and  black  balls.  The  autocratic 
Tsar  was  one  of  the  first  to  countenance  universal  suffrage  in 
Russia. 

The  vital  question  of  emancipation  slumbered  during  this 
reign.  Nicholas  contented  himself  with  giving  his  approval 
to  the  great  nobles  who  set  their  serfs  at  liberty.  The 
Princess  Orlof-Tchesmenski  freed  five  thousand  five  hun¬ 
dred  and  eighteen.  The  class  of  free  cultivators  increased 
very  slowly  ;  in  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-eight  it  num¬ 
bered  only  seventy-two  thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty- 
four  husbandmen.  The  edict  of  eighteen  hundred  and 
forty-two,  by  which  an  attempt  was  made  to  fix  the  condi- 


24 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  I. 


tions  of  these  contracts  of  emancipation,  made  the  nobles 
anxious  about  the  effect  it  would  have  upon  their  serfs. 
The  government  hastened  to  reassure  them  by  affirming 
that  the  liberation  of  the  peasants  was  not  under  considera¬ 
tion,  and  by  ordering  the  arrest  of  individuals  who  propagated 
false  news.  They  were  authorized  to  use  force,  if  necessary, 
in  recalling  refractory  serfs  to  their  obedience. 

Nicholas  established  in  the  Court  of  the  Holy  Synod  his 
aide-de-camp  Pratasof,  a  general  of  hussars,  who  for  twenty 
years  governed  the  national  church  in  a  military  fashion,  and 
had  no  scruples  about  disciplining  and  dragooning  the  dis¬ 
senters  of  White  Russia. 

Nicholas  continued  the  work  of  joining  the  Don  and  the 
Volga  by  means  of  a  canal,  and  undertook  to  improve  the 
navigation  of  the  Dnieper.  In  the  reign  of  this  champion 
of  conservatism  the  first  railways  were  created.  He  traced 
in  a  straight  line  with  a  ruler  the  railway  between  Saint 
Petersburg  and  Moscow,  without  allowing  it  to  turn  aside  so 
as  to  pass  through  any  towns  of  importance.  A  small  branch 
joined  Tsarskoe-Selo  to  the  capital.  Russia  was  still  far  be¬ 
hind  in  following  the  new  European  enterprises  ;  no  iron 
road  as  yet  united  the  East  and  the  West.  The  annoyances 
of  the  police,  the  censorship  of  the  press,  the  custom-house 
dues,  all  contributed  to  its  isolation  from  Europe.  Its  auto¬ 
crat  kept  the  rest  of  Europe  in  a  kind  of  political  quaran¬ 
tine.  While  speaking  of  public  works,  we  must  mention 
the  reconstruction  in  fifteen  months  of  the  Winter  Palace, 
which  was  destroyed  by  the  fire  of  eighteen  hundred  and 
thirty-seven. 

Nicholas  created  a  “  professorial  institute  ”  —  a  sort  of  nor¬ 
mal  school  for  the  higher  education  —  to  recruit  the  ranks  of 
public  schoolmasters,  and  a  “  principal  pedagogic  institute  ” 
for  the  secondary  course  of  instruction.  His  object  was  to 
remove  the  Russian  youth  from  the  influence  of  foreign  mas¬ 
ters.  There  were  restrictions  as  to  the  employment  of  tutors 


1825  -  1855.] 


NICHOLAS  I. 


25 


and  governesses  in  private  houses.  Their  capacity  and  their 
morality,  under  the  head  of  which  were  included  their  politi¬ 
cal  opinions,  were  to  be  certified  by  one  of  the  universities  of 
the  empire,  under  the  penalty  of  a  fine  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  rubles  and  of  banishment.  It  was  forbidden  to  send 
young  men  to  study  in  Western  universities,  save  in  some 
exceptional  cases,  for  which  a  special  permission  was  required. 
In  the  government  schools,  at  the  expense  of  foreign  lan¬ 
guages  and  literature,  a  greater  development  was  given  to 
the  Russian  language,  literature,  statistics,  and  history,  which 
were  considered  less  dangerous.  Other  obstacles  were  im¬ 
posed  on  freedom  of  foreign  travel  and  residence ;  the  term 
of  absence  attested  by  legal  passports  was  fixed  at  five  years 
for  the  nobles,  and  three  for  other  Russian  subjects.  The 
University  of  Saint  Vladimir  was  founded  at  Kief,  to  replace 
that  of  Vilna,  which  was  suppressed  after  the  Polish  insur¬ 
rection.  The  scholastic  reaction,  the  mistrust  of  German 
philosophy,  went  so  far  that  philosophy  was  finally  forbid¬ 
den  to  be  taught  in  the  universities,  and  was  put  under  the 
exclusive  care  of  ecclesiastics. 

Nicholas  bestowed  especial  attention  on  the  establishments 
for  military  instruction,  the  corps  of  cadets,  and  the  Academy 
of  War.  He  created,  however,  a  law  school  and  a  techno¬ 
logical  institute.  The  scientific  publications  of  the  govern¬ 
ment  and  those  of  the  archaeological  commission  established 
in  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-four,  of  which  Stroef,  Korku- 
nof,  and  Berednikof  were  important  members,  furnished,  with 
the  “  Complete  Collection  of  Russian  Laws,”  new  materials 
for  the  study  of  the  national  history. 

The  imperial  library  at  Saint  Petersburg  was  enriched  by 
Pogodin’s  cabinet  of  antiquities,  and  to  the  liberality  of 
Count  Rumiantsof  Moscow  owes  the  museum  and  library 
which  bear  his  name. 


26 


HISTOEY  OF  KUSSIA. 


[Chap.  I. 


LITERATURE. 

The  most  important  historical  work  of  this  period  was  the 
“  History  of  Russia,”  by  Ustrialof,  “  written  in  an  elevated  style, 
but  in  reality  scarcely  more  than  a  resume  of  Karamsin.”  The 
“  History  of  the  Russian  People,”  by  Nikolai  Polevoi,  is  also 
worthy  of  notice,  though  it  fails  in  being  uncritical  and  super¬ 
ficial.  Solovief,  who  is  called  the  Augustin  Thierry  of  Russia, 
began  his  enormous  historical  work,  which  was  never  finished. 
“  The  formation  of  the  political  unity  of  the  country  is  explained 
with  the  hand  of  a  master.  He  understood  also  how  to  de¬ 
scribe  in  a  clear  and  attractive  manner  the  peculiarities  of 
the  principal  characters  as  well  as  the  customs  of  each  epoch.” 

The  censorship  weighed  heavily  on  the  development  of  the 
national  press.  Until  eighteen  hundred  and  twenty-five  there 
was  really  no  newspaper  worthy  of  the  name,  unless,  perhaps, 
the  Saint  Petersburg  News  founded  in  the  reign  of  Peter 
the  Great.  Gretch,  with  the  assistance  of  Bulgarin,  called  the 
Russian  Vidocq,  established  during  the  first  year  of  Nicholas’s 
reign  a  daily  journal,  the  Northern  Bee,  which  aimed  at  being 
a  popular  and  literary  newspaper.  The  struggle  between  the 
partisans  of  the  romantic  and  classic  schools  was  carried  on 
with  great  vigor.  The  classicists,  supported  by  the  respect¬ 
ability  of  antiquity,  founded  many  organs ;  while,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  romanticists  were  at  first  limited  to  alma¬ 
nacs  or  pamphlets,  though  they  occasionally  made  use  of  the 
columns  of  the  Son  of  the  Patherland,  which  shared  with 
the  Northern  Bee  the  dubious  honor  of  carrying  on  a  des¬ 
perate  war  against  everything  foreign,  especially  everything 
Prench,  as  well  as  against  liberty  of  thought.” 

Polevoi  began  his  career  by  making  common  cause  with 
Professor  Katchenovski,  the  editor  of  the  Viestni/c  Evropui, 
or  “  European  Messenger,”  which  was  the  champion  of  the 
classic  school.  He  soon  found  reason,  however,  to  change  his 
views,  and  after  a  short  and  unsatisfactory  engagement  with 


1825-1855.] 


NICHOLAS  I. 


27 


Bulgarin,  he  obtained  permission  in  eighteen  hundred  and 
twenty-four  to  establish  a  new  review  which  he  called  the 
Telegraph.  He  gathered  about  him  as  associates  men  of 
ability,  such  as  Maximovitch  and  Krasovski,  who  wrote  on 
scientific  subjects,  the  witty  and  liberal  Princes  Viasemski 
and  Odoievski,  and  afterwards  the  poet  Pushkin.  He  him¬ 
self  kept  in  the  current  of  all  that  was  new  in  the  intellectual 
life  of  Europe.  Nothing  escaped  his  attention.  The  Tele¬ 
graph  soon  became  extremely  popular.  “  Polevoi  was  ac¬ 
knowledged  to  be  the  judge  of  good  literary  taste,  and  the 
father  of  true  Russian  criticism.”  He  was  too  independent 
not  to  win  hosts  of  enemies  who  were  envious  of  his  success. 
After  the  revolution  of  eighteen  hundred  and  twenty-five,  and 
the  events  which  took  place  in  Europe  five  years  later,  liber¬ 
ality  was  looked  upon  with  little  favor  by  the  censure.  The 
Telegraph,  which  showed  itself  a  partisan  of  the  economical 
ideas  of  Adam  Smith,  was  regarded  as  a  dangerous  sheet. 
Its  enemies  were  on  the  watch  to  ruin  it,  and  finally  their 
opportunity  came.  A  severe  criticism  of  a  wretched  political 
drama  by  Kukolnik  led  to  the  arrest  of  the  editor-in-chief  and 
the  suppression  of  the  journal.  The  principal  opponent  of 
Polevoi  was  Nadezhdin,  a  celebrated  professor  of  the  Univer¬ 
sity  of  Moscow,  who  in  the  Telescope  developed  the  ideas  of 
Schelling.  Nadezhdin  exposed  relentlessly  the  poverty  of 
Russian  literature.  One  of  his  pupils  was  Bielinski,  the 
prince  of  critics.  He  was  the  son  of  a  country  physician, 
and  was  educated  at  the  University  of  Moscow,  which  was 
then  at  the  height  of  its  prosperity.  He  was  not  considered 
a  remarkable  scholar,  but  he  soon  joined  the  literary  circle 
of  which  the  ruling  spirit  was  Stankievitch,  a  man  who  exer¬ 
cised  a  great  influence  over  his  associates,  and  was  endeavor¬ 
ing  to  introduce  the  ideas  of  Hegel,  in  contradistinction  to 
those  of  Schelling.  Bidlinski  first  attracted  attention  by  his 
article  entitled  “  Literary  Reveries,”  in  which  he  went  even 
further  than  his  master,  and  denied  that  there  was  any  Rus- 


28 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  I. 


sian  literature  at  all.  He  afterwards,  in  eighteen  hundred 
and  thirty-eight,  took  Shevuiref’s  place  as  director  of  the  Ob¬ 
server,  started  by  Stepanof  in  Moscow.  This  review,  which 
was  too  exclusive  and  monotonous,  soon  ceased  to  exist,  and 
Bielinski  accepted  a  position  as  associate  on  Kraievskiz’s  “  An¬ 
nals  of  the  Country,”  in  which  he  published  brilliant  criti¬ 
cisms  of  Russian  literature  and  poetry,  and  articles  on 
Lermontof  and  Pushkin.  Several  years  later  he  was  invited 
to  edit  the  Contemporary,  a  review  founded  by  Nekrasof  and 
Panaief.  He  died  in  eighteen  hundred  and  forty-eight,  an 
ardent  advocate  of  Occidentalism.  Pogodin  called  him  “an 
atheist,  a  socialist,  a  propagandist  ”  ;  his  fickleness  and  the 
changes  which  his  opinion  underwent  were  his  weak  side, 
but  the  Slavophiles,  who  attacked  him  in  the  Epoch,  the 
Times,  the  Citizen,  and  the  Muscovite,  could  not  appreciate 
his  really  brilliant  qualities. 

The  principal  representatives  of  the  Slavophiles  were  Pogo¬ 
din,  Shevuiref,  Aksakof,  and  Kirievski ;  they  discussed  ques¬ 
tions  relative  to  the  unity  of  the  Slav  races,  the  nationality 
of  the  Russian  people  ;  they  had  only  the  greatest  contempt 
for  Western  Europe ;  the  natural  school,  including  Gogol  and 
Turgenief,  they  accused  of  plagiarism ;  they  thought  that 
“  Ivan  the  Third  was  superior  to  Peter  the  Great,  and  that 
Russia  before  this  great  reformer  was  better  than  after¬ 
wards.” 

This  period  of  the  nineteenth  century  was  as  fertile  in 
Russian  as  in  French  and  English  literature.  To  the  names 
of  Lamartine,  Victor  Hugo,  Alfred  de  Musset,  to  the  names 
of  Byron,  Shelley,  Wordsworth,  correspond  those  of  Pushkin, 
Lermontof,  Koltsof,  Griboiedof,  and  Gogol. 

Alexander  Pushkin,  the  greatest  Russian  poet,  and  one  of 
the  first  of  modern  times,  was  born  in  seventeen  hundred  and 
ninety-nine,  at  Moscow.  His  mother  was  of  African  origin. 
He  was  early  initiated  by  an  old  nurse  into  the  customs  and 
legends  of  the  people.  His  father  had  been  educated  in 


1825  - 1855.] 


NICHOLAS  I. 


29 


France,  and  owned  a  large  library  consisting  mostly  of 
French  authors.  The  young  Pushkin  learned  French  as  his 
mother-tongue.  When  he  entered  the  lyceum  of  Tsarskoe- 
Selo,  at  the  age  of  twelve,  he  found  French  ideas  predomi¬ 
nant,  and  instead  of  studying,  he  spent  his  time  in  desultory 
reading,  writing  poems,  and  in  all  sorts  of  dissipation.  He 
afterwards  entered  the  civil  service,  and  spent  some  years  in 
the  Caucasus  and  in  Odessa.  He  resigned  in  eighteen  hun¬ 
dred  and  twenty-four,  and  after  the  revolt  lived  quietly  at 
Saint  Petersburg  and  on  his  estate  of  Mikhailovsk,  where  he 
composed  his  poetical  tales.  He  was  killed  in  eighteen  hun¬ 
dred  and  thirty-seven,  in  a  duel  with  Baron  George  Iiekeren- 
Dantes.  Pushkin  owes  his  inspiration  partly  to  Lord  Byron, 
though  his  muse  is  not  so  gloomy  and  misanthropical  as  that 
of  the  English  poet.  The  first  poem  of  Pushkin  which  at¬ 
tracted  attention  was  “  Ruslan  and  Liudmila/'  a  tale  in  which 
are  blended  beautiful  descriptions  of  scenery,  interesting 
sketches  of  character,  Russian  legends,  and  Italian  fancies. 
It  is  written  in  sonorous  and  musical  verse.  Afterwards 
followed  the  tales  inspired  by  his  numerous  visits  to  the 
Caucasus.  Perhaps  his  greatest  work  is  the  tragedy  of 
Boris  Godunof,  which,  in  the  opinion  of  Konstantin  Petrof, 
recalls  the  genius  of  Shakspere.  Pushkin  wrote  also  sev¬ 
eral  novels  which  are  distinguished  for  their  grace  and 
beauty,  although  the  characters  are  not  always  natural. 

Mikhail  Lermontof  was  born  at  Moscow  in  eighteen  hum 
dred  and  fourteen.  Polevoi  says  that  he  lost  his  mother 
when  he  was  two  years  old,  and  that  nothing  is  known  of 
his  father  except  that  he  was  of  noble  origin.  His  grand¬ 
mother,  Madame  Arsenief,  undertook  his  early  education. 
He  afterwards  regretted  that  his  training  had  been  under 
foreign  influences.  “How  unfortunate/'  he  says,  “that  my 
nurse  was  German  and  not  Russian.  I  failed  to  hear  our 
popular  folk-stories.  In  these  there  is  certainly  more  poetry 
than  in  all  French  literature."  At  the  age  of  ten  his  grand' 


30 


HISTORY  OF  RUSS r A. 


[Chaf.  I. 


mother  took  him  to  the  Caucasus,  where  Polevoi  says  that 
“  he  fell  seriously  in  love  with  some  blond-haired,  blue¬ 
eyed  maiden  of  nine.”  He  afterwards  studied  at  the  Uni¬ 
versity  of  Moscow,  but  in  consequence  of  a  youthful  escapade 
was  expelled.  He  then  became  a  cavalry  officer,  and  lived  a 
gay  and  rather  dissipated  life.  His  first  poem  which  attracted 
universal  attention  was  the  ode  upon  Pushkin’s  death,  “  in 
which  he  expressed  his  admiration  for  the  poet,  and  his  sor¬ 
row  at  his  untimely  death,  and  at  the  same  time  poured  forth 
all  the  vials  of  his  bitterness  upon  that  coterie  which  was  so 
incapable  of  appreciating  Pushkin.”  This  attack  upon  Push¬ 
kin’s  critics  led  to  his  banishment  to  the  Caucasus,  where 
the  wild  and  beautiful  scenery  exercised  a  great  influence 
over  his  genius.  He  returned  to  Saint  Petersburg  before 
the  expiration  of  a  year,  and  published  his  great  poem  “  The 
Demon,”  in  which  are  painted  the  remembrances  of  his  youth, 
his  dreams  of  love  and  happiness,  his  worship  of  beauty. 
“  The  Demon,  driven  from  heaven,  wanders  through  the 
world,  takes  pleasure  in  doing  ill,  contemplates  the  sublimity 
of  the  Caucasus  with  haughty  and  disdainful  glance.  He 
becomes  melancholy  as  he  thinks  of  the  happy  days  of  the 
past  when  his  soul  was  full  of  love  and  faith.  He  wearies 
of  wrong-doing,  for  he  nowhere  meets  with  resistance.”  He 
then  sees  the  beautiful  Tamara,  and  in  the  love  of  the  pure 
mortal  his  thoughts  gradually  become  pure  and  noble  again. 

Lermontof’s  life  was  abruptly  ended  by  a  self-sought  duel. 
Being  banished  for  the  third  time  to  the  Caucasus,  he  quar¬ 
relled  with  a  comrade  named  Martuinof,  and  was  killed  in 
eighteen  hundred  and  forty-one.  His  tendency  to  doubt 
and  his  Byronic  admiration  of  solitude  are  shown  in  his 
other  poems,  especially  in  “  Yalerika’s  Dream.”  He  expresses 
his  views  of  society  in  his  celebrated  novel  “  The  Hero  of  our 
Time.”  “  It  is  a  vivid  picture  of  the  struggle  of  genius 
against  the  crushing  and  killing  atmosphere  which  at  that 
time  weighed  down  free  and  independent  minds.  Bielinski 


1825-1855.] 


NICHOLAS  I. 


31 


says  of  him  :  “  Lermontof  wrote  little,  infinitely  little,  in  com¬ 
parison  with  the  possibilities  of  his  colossal  talent.  His  in¬ 
dolent  disposition,  his  fiery  youth,  so  eager  to  receive  new 
impressions,  his  peculiar  manner  of  life,  withdrew  him  from 
the  peaceful  occupations  of  the  study,  and  from  solitary 
meditation,  the  delight  of  the  Muses.  But  already  his  impet¬ 
uous  nature  was  beginning  to  calm  down,  in  his  soul  was 
growing  the  thirst  for  work  and  activity,  and  his  eagle  eye 
began  peacefully  to  sound  the  depths  of  11^0/’ 

Koltsof  was  one  of  the  most  distinguished  poets  of  Push¬ 
kin’s  time.  He  reproduced  the  life  of  the  people  with  much 
sentiment,  basing  his  poems  upon  the  Russian  folk-song,  in 
which  love  and  the  heavy  yoke  of  slavery  are  thrown  into 
vivid  contrast.  His  best  tales  are  “The  Plight  ”  and  the  “Song 
of  the  Brigand,”  in  which  many  Cossack  dumki  are  intro¬ 
duced.  Koltsof  lived  a  life  of  trial  and  privation,  and  died  in 
eighteen  hundred  and  forty-two,  at  the  age  of  thirty-three. 

Alexander  Griboiedof  is  remembered  chiefly  for  his  cele¬ 
brated  comedy  in  four  acts,  Hore  ot  Uma,  “  Too  Clever  by 
Half,”  or,  more  literally,  the  “  Misfortune  of  Sense,”  in  which 
is  given  a  remarkable  picture  of  the  society  of  Moscow  during 
the  first  quarter  of  this  century.  The  hero  is  filled  with  mod¬ 
ern  ideas,  and  despises  the  ancient  regime.  The  dialogue  is 
monotonous  and  inartistic,  but  the  characters  are  vividly 
presented  and  well  sustained.  The  author,  who  was  killed 
in  eighteen  hundred  and  twenty-nine  by  the  excited  populace 
of  Teheran,  did  not  see  the  piece  put  on  the  stage.  At  first 
the  play  was  not  even  allowed  to  be  printed.  Since  his 
death  it  has  occasionally  been  presented. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  of  the  writers  of  this  reign 
was  Nikolai  Gogol-Ianovsld,  who  was  born  in  eighteen  hun¬ 
dred  and  nine,  in  a  little  village  near  Poltava.  His  father 
was  a  learned  man  of  some  importance,  and  undertook  his 
education  until  he  was  twelve  years  old,  when  he  was  sent 
to  the  Gymnasium  of  Niezhin.  He  detested  German,  and 


32 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  I. 


was  not  much  more  fond  of  the  dead  languages,  but  an  excel¬ 
lent  memory  assisted  him,  and  he  soon  won  a  local  reputation 
as  a  writer  and  an  actor.  He  edited  a  little  paper  called  the 
Star.  After  he  left  the  gymnasium  he  went  to  Saint  Peters¬ 
burg,  where  he  gained  a  precarious  livelihood  under  the  pro¬ 
tection  of  Zhukovski  and  Pushkin,  by  whose  aid  he  published 
some  Little  Russian  tales  and  an  epic  novel  entitled  “  Taras - 
Bulba,”  “  borrowed  from  the  time  when  the  Cossacks  were  still 
independent.  Taras-Bulba  is  the  true  type  of  those  Cossack 
chiefs,  always  ready  to  mount  and  give  battle.  War  is  his 
element.”  Gogol  paints  the  beauties  of  the  Ukraina  with  a 
loving  hand.  Bielinski  was  the  first  to  give  a  definite  posi¬ 
tion  to  Gogol.  In  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-five  appeared 
his  comedy  “  The  Revisor,”  which  was  very  successful,  and 
stands  next  to  Gribo'iedof’s  Ilore  ot  Uma .  Shortly  after¬ 
wards  he  went  to  Italy  to  recruit  his  health.  He  then  wrote 
Mertvuia  Dushi ,  or,  “  Dead  Souls,”  of  which  the  subject 
is  borrowed  from  the  life  of  the  provincial  proprietors  and 
serfs.  The  male  serfs  are  reckoned  by  souls ,  and  as  the  regis¬ 
tration  was  infrequent  the  proprietors  were  often  obliged  to 
pay  a  tax  on  peasants  who  had  died.  This  powerful  novel 
revealed  the  plague-spots  in  Russian  administration  and 
society.  Gogol’s  other  works  are  “  The  Portrait,”  “  Nevski 
Prospekt,”  “  The  Nose,”  “  The  Cloak,”  and  “  The  Memoirs 
of  a  Madman,”  in  all  of  which,  abandoning  the  steppes,  he 
took  his  scenes  from  Saint  Petersburg  and  the  life  of  the 
middle  classes.  Toward  the  latter  part  of  his  career  Gogol’s 
mind  became  affected  by  a  species  of  religious  insanity.  He 
tore  up  at  night  what  he  had  written  during  the  day,  and 
sent  strange  letters  to  his  friends.  He  died  at  Moscow  in 
March,  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-two. 

This  was  the  golden  age  of  translations.  Zhukovski  made 
Russian  versions  of  Gray’s  Elegy  and  many  German  ballads 
in  which  sentimentality  and  romanticism  were  the  ruling 
motives.  Zhukovski  was  born  in  seventeen  hundred  and 


1825-1855.] 


NICHOLAS  I. 


33 


eighty-four  at  Bielef,  near  Tula.  He  studied  in  Moscow, 
then  returned  to  his  native  village,  where  he  spent  twelve 
years  in  solitude  and  dreams  of  love  and  friendship.  At 
the  time  of  the  Napoleonic  invasion  he  served  in  the  army 
and  wrote  “  The  Bard  in  the  Camp  of  the  Russian  Warriors,” 
which  brought  him  to  the  attention  of  the  Court.  He  was 
appointed  tutor  to  Alexander  Nikolaievitch.  He  translated 
Schiller  for  the  Grand  Duchess  Alexandra,  and  then  turned 
his  attention  to  Indian  and  Persian  literature.  His  master¬ 
piece  is  the  Russian  version  of  the  Odyssey.  He  had  never 
seen  the  original.  It  is  not  literal,  and  is  too  much  colored 
with  his  romantic  melancholy,  but  it  is  a  remarkable  poem. 
Zhukovski  died  at  Baden-Baden  in  eighteen  hundred  and 
fifty-two. 

Schiller,  Hoffman,  Walter  Scott,  Shakspere,  George  Sand, 
were  either  translated  or  imitated.  Polevoi  wrote  his  “  Oath 
at  the  Tomb  of  our  Savior,”  “  The  Deserted  One,”  “  Plamlet,” 
and  “  Ugolin  ”  ;  Marlinski  continued  the  romantic  movement 
with  his  “  Terrible  Prediction  ”  and  “  The  Proscribed.”  Byron 
was  forgotten.  Prom  eighteen  hundred  and  forty  until  the 
Crimean  War  there  is  nothing  of  very  great  importance  in  the 
domain  of  literature.  It  was  a  period  of  change  and  transi¬ 
tion.  The  iron  censure  weighed  heavily  upon  all  original 
production.  Turgenief  says  in  his  “  Memoirs  of  Bielinski  ”  : 
“  Life  was  very  painful  at  this  time,  and  the  young  people  of 
to-day  have  to  undergo  no  such  experiences.  In  the  morn¬ 
ing  your  proof  returned  from  the  censure  full  of  erasures, 
covered  with  words  written  in  red  ink,  as  it  were  stained 
with  blood.  Sometimes  it  was  necessary  to  present  one’s  self 
before  the  censor,  offer  him  useless  or  humiliating  explana¬ 
tions  and  apologies,  and  listen  to  judgments  which  had  no 
appeal  and  were  often  ironical.  On  the  street  you  would 
meet  a  general  or  an  office-holder  who  overwhelmed  you  with 
nonsense  or  with  compliments,  which  was  still  worse.  Look¬ 
ing  about,  you  saw  venality  in  full  feather,  serfdom  crushing 

3 


VOL.  III. 


34 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  I* 


the  people  down  like  a  rock,  barracks  in  every  direction  ; 
there  was  no  justice,  threats  were  made  of  closing  the  uni¬ 
versities,  foreign  travel  was  out  of  the  question,  it  was  impos¬ 
sible  to  procure  a  serious  book,  a  gloomy  cloud  hung  heavily 
over  what  was  called  the  administration  of  literature  and  the 
sciences.  Informers  were  lurking  everywhere.  Among  the 
young  there  was  no  common  bond,  no  general  interest.  Fear 
and  flattery  were  universal.” 

And  yet  it  cannot  be  called  a  barren  epoch.  Herzen, 
under  the  name  of  “  Iskander,”  wrote  his  principal  novel, 
“  Whose  Fault  is  it  ?  ”  which  showed  great  originality,  and  a 
tendency  toward  socialism;  Ivan  Turgenief  struck  the  pre¬ 
lude  to  a  world- wide  reputation  in  his  “  Memoirs  of  a  Hunts¬ 
man,”  in  regard  to  which  he  says  :  “  I  could  no  longer  breathe 
the  same  air  nor  live  with  the  thing  that  I  detested ;  I  had 
not  sufficient  force  of  character  for  that.  I  was  obliged  to 
recoil  from  my  enemy,  that  I  might  fall  upon  him  with  greater 
violence.  This  enemy  of  mine  had  a  fixed  form,  bore  a  well- 
known  name,  —  it  was  serfdom.  I  resolved  to  fight  it  to 
the  death ;  I  vowed  never  to  become  reconciled.  This  was 
my  Hannibal’s  oath.” 

Grigorovitch  made  use  of  the  same  sort  of  material  as 
Turgenief,  but  with  less  success.  His  novels,  “  The  Emi¬ 
grants,”  “  The  Fishers,”  paint  rather  superficially  the  life 
of  the  peasants.  Pisemski  showed  independence  and  origi¬ 
nality  in  freeing  himself  from  the  influence  of  Gogol,  and 
produced  “  The  Lieshi,  or  Were-wolf,”  and  “  The  Peters- 
burgher,”  which  depict  the  muzhik  in  less  poetical  and 
more  natural  colors  than  Grigorovitch.  Dostoievski  was 
at  first  also  a  partisan  of  the  romantic  school,  and  a  follower 
of  Gogol.  He  wrote  several  short  stories  and  two  novels, 
“  The  Poor”  and  “  Sosia.”  His  faults  are  monotony  and 
vagueness.  Dahl,  who  wrote  under  the  name  of  “  The  Cos¬ 
sack  of  Lugan,”  made  literary  studies  of  the  Russian  people 
based  upon  his  wide  knowledge  of  their  popular  tales  and 


1825-1855.] 


NICHOLAS  1. 


35 


proverbs.  His  Physiological  Sketches  made  his  reputation. 
Dahl  is  not  only  a  conscientious  observer,  but  also  a  literary 
artist.  The  stage  also  had  its  great  writer  in  Ostrovski, 
whose  comedies  are  taken  from  the  life  of  the  merchant  class. 
Glinka  began  to  write  his  operas.  Russian  poetry  at  this 
time  is  represented  by  Iazuikof  and  Khomiakof,  who  are  not 
dissimilar  in  their  treatment  of  historical  subjects.  The  for¬ 
mer  wrote  his  two  tragedies,  “  Iermak  ”  and  “  The  False 
Dmitri.”  Ogaref  followed  in  the  steps  of  Lermontof,  and 
pictured  misery,  sorrow,  and  death  with  exaggerated  empha¬ 
sis.  Markof,  Fet,  and  Shtchervin  described  the  beauties  of 
nature.  Aksakof  wrote  a  historical  drama  entitled  “The 
Deliverance  of  Moscow  in  eighteen  hundred  and  twelve,” 
which  is  conceived  in  strict  conformity  with  actual  events. 

Throughout  this  period  the  Russian  intellect,  in  spite  of 
all  obstacles,  spread  its  wings  and  tried  unknown  flights, 
created  new  openings  for  itself,  and  nobly  gave  the  lie  to 
theories  of  a  rigid  conservatism.  Russia,  isolated  though 
it  was  from  Europe,  nevertheless  took  its  place  among  the 
great  European  nations. 


CHAPTER  II. 


AFFAIRS  IN  ASIA  AND  THE  POLISH 

INSURRECTION. 

1825-1855. 

Persian  War  (1826  -  1828).  —  First  Turkish  War;  Liberation  op 
Greece  (1826  -1829). — The  Russians  and  English  in  Asia. — 
The  Polish  Insurrection  (1831). 


PERSIAN  WAR ;  FIRST  TURKISH  WAR ;  LIBERATION 

OF  GREECE. 

AFTER  the  treaty  of  Gulistan,  the  Russian  and  Persian 
governments  were  continually  quarrelling  on  the  subject 
of  the  frontiers  and  the  vassal  tribes.  The  Shah  continued 
to  receive  tribute  from  the  khans  of  Karabagh  and  Gandja, 
but  in  his  turn  complained  of  the  encroachments  of  Russia, 
the  occupation  of  the  district  of  Gokcha,  and  of  the  arrogance 
of  Iermolof,  Governor- General  of  the  Caucasus.  Soon  the 
Russians  learnt  that  the  Mollahs  were  preaching  on  all  sides 
a  holy  war,  that  English  officers  had  entered  the  service  of 
the  Shah,  and  that  Abbas-Mirza,  Prince  Royal  of  Persia,  was 
beginning  to  cross  the  Araxes  at  the  head  of  thirty-five  thou¬ 
sand  men,  and  to  raise  the  tributary  khanates.  Nicholas  at 
once  despatched  General  Paskievitch  to  join  Iermolof.  The 
Prince  Royal  was  in  full  march  on  Tiflis,  but  he  was  held  in 
check  for  six  weeks  by  the  heroic  resistance  of  the  fortress 
of  Shusha.  The  Russians  thus  had  time  to  concentrate 
their  forces.  Near  Elisavetpol  they  defeated  the  Persian  van¬ 
guard,  eighteen  thousand  strong ;  on  the  Djeham,  in  eighteen 
hundred  and  twenty-six,  Paskievitch,  with  less  than  ten  thou¬ 
sand  men,  dispersed  the  whole  royal  army,  forty-four  thou- 


1825  -  1855.]  NICHOLAS  I.:  PEKSIA  AND  POLAND. 


37 


sand  strong,  and  obliged  the  remnant  to  retreat  beyond  the 
Araxes. 

By  the  treaty  of  Teheran,  signed  in  eighteen  hundred  and 
fourteen,  England  promised  Persia,  in  case  of  invasion,  assist¬ 
ance  with  troops  and  a  subsidy  of  five  millions.  But  now 
the  English  government  affected  that  Persia  had  begun  the 
quarrel  and  refused  the  promised  aid,  although  Paskievitch, 
appointed  general-in-chief  in  eighteen  hundred  and  twenty  - 
seven,  forced  the  defiles  of  the  mountains  and  crossed  the 
Araxes.  He  then  captured  ten  thousand  of  the  Prince 
Royal’s  men,  took  Erivan,  the  bulwark  of  Persia,  by  assault, 
entered  Tauris,  the  second  city  of  the  kingdom,  in  triumph, 
and  began  his  march  to  Teheran.  The  king,  Eet-Aly-Shah, 
in  alarm  signed  the  Peace  of  Turkmantchai  on  the  twenty- 
second  of  February,  eighteen  hundred  and  twenty-eight,  by 
which  he  agreed  to  cede  to  Russia  the  provinces  of  Erivan 
and  Nakhitchevan,  and  pay  an  indemnity  of  twenty  million 
rubles.  He  also  promised  important  commercial  advantages 
to  Russian  subjects.  The  Araxes  became  the  frontier  of  the 
two  empires,  and  Paskievitch  received  the  title  of  Erivanski. 
The  peace  was  all  but  broken  in  eighteen  hundred  and 
twenty-nine  by  the  massacre  of  the  Russian  legation  at  Tehe¬ 
ran,  in  which  the  poet  Griboiedof,  the  Russian  minister,  per¬ 
ished.  The  Court  of  Teheran  disavowed  the  crime  of  the 
people,  and,  although  Russia  was  then  occupied  in  a  war 
with  Turkey,  the  Prince  Royal  came  to  Saint  Petersburg  to 
offer  the  most  complete  satisfaction.  Persia  became  day  by 
day  more  subject  to  Russian  influence,  to  the  great  disgust 
of  England. 

With  regard  to  Turkey,  Nicholas  took  a  more  decided  atti¬ 
tude  than  Alexander.  The  enemy  of  revolutions  sympathized 
with  the  regeneration  of  Greece.  He  made  two  demands  of 
the  Sultan :  in  concert  with  the  other  powers,  he  insisted 
that  an  end  should  be  put  to  the  extermination  of  the  Greeks, 
and  in  his  own  name  he  demanded  satisfaction  for  the  bloody 


38 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap..  II. 


outrages  inflicted  on  the  orthodox  Christians  since  the  mas¬ 
sacre  of  Constantinople,  and  for  the  insults  offered  to  his  am¬ 
bassador.  On  one  side  he,  like  the  rest  of  Europe,  invoked 
the  rights  of  humanity;  on  the  other,  he  claimed  his  rights 
as  protector  of  the  members  of  the  orthodox  Church,  guaran¬ 
teed  by  the  treaties  of  Kainardji  and  Bukarest.  Sometimes 
he  acted  in  unison  with  Europe,  sometimes  he  stood  aloof,  in 
order  to  act  separately  and  more  energetically. 

In  March,  eighteen  hundred  and  twenty -six,  Nicholas 
presented  his  ultimatum  to  the  Divan.  His  conditions 
were :  The  evacuation  of  the  Danubian  principalities,  which 
the  Turks  had  occupied  under  the  pretext  of  the  insurrection 
of  eighteen  hundred  and  twenty-one,  and  the  re-establish¬ 
ment  of  affairs  on  the  basis  of  existing  treaties ;  the  execu¬ 
tion  of  the  clauses  of  the  Treaty  of  Bukarest,  relating  to  the 
autonomy  of  Serbia  and  the  liberation  of  the  Serbian  depu¬ 
ties  who  were  detained  in  Constantinople ;  finally,  satisfaction 
on  all  points  under  dispute  and  the  appointment  of  an  Otto¬ 
man  plenipotentiary. 

The  Porte  tried  to  resist,  but  the  European  powers  per¬ 
suaded  the  Sultan  to  yield,  and  on  the  eighth  of  October  the 
Convention  of  Akkerman  was  concluded  on  the  following 
conditions :  The  confirmation  of  the  Treaty  of  Bukarest ; 
the  autonomy  of  Moldavia  and  Valakhia,  under  a  hospodar 
elected  for  seven  years  in  an  assembly  of  nobles,  who  could 
be  deposed  only  with  the  consent  of  Russia ;  the  final  cession 
to  Russia  of  the  disputed  territories  on  the  Asiatic  frontier ; 
seven  years’  delay  to  enable  the  Porte  to  organize  Serbia  in 
accordance  with  the  Treaty  of  Bukarest ;  fair  satisfaction  to 
the  Russian  subjects  who  were  creditors  of  the  Turkish  Gov¬ 
ernment  ;  free  passage  for  Russian  vessels  from  the  Black 
Sea  to  the  Mediterranean. 

The  Greek  question  still  remained.  The  Duke  of  Welling¬ 
ton  and  Count  Nesselrode  had  come  to  an  agreement  in  the 
Saint  Petersburg  conferences.  The  Angio-Russian  protocol 


1825-  1855.]  NICHOLAS  I.:  PERSIA  AND  POLAND. 


39 


of  the  twenty-sixth  of  March,  eighteen  hundred  and  twenty- 
six,  energetically  supported  by  the  French  ambassador,  was 
presented  to  the  Porte  by  the  representatives  of  the  three 
powers.  Greece  was  to  be  an  autonomous  dependency  of 
Turkey,  was  to  pay  an  annual  tribute  to  the  Sultan,  to  be 
governed  by  authorities  elected  by  its  own  people,  but  over 
the  nomination  of  whom  the  Porte  was  to  exercise  a  certain 
influence.  The  Turks  settled  in  Greece  were  to  emigrate, 
and  to  receive  an  equivalent  for  their  fixtures.  The  Divan 
rejected  these  propositions  as  “  violating  the  passive  obedience 
owed  by  subjects  to  their  legitimate  sovereign.”  France, 
England,  and  Russia  signed  the  Treaty  of  London  in  June, 
eighteen  hundred  and  twenty-seven,  by  virtue  of  which  they 
imposed  their  mediation  on  the  belligerents,  Turkey  and 
Greece.  The  Porte,  when  informed  of  this,  replied  by  dis¬ 
embarking  a  Turco-Egyptian  army  in  the  Morea,  under  the 
command  of  Ibrahim.  The  three  Western  squadrons,  com¬ 
manded  by  Admirals  de  Rigny,  Heiden,  and  Codrington, 
received  orders  to  hinder,  even  by  force,  the  prolongation  of 
hostilities  in  the  Peninsula.  The  Turkish  fleet  was  then 
annihilated  in  the  battle  of  Navarino,  on  the  twentieth  of 
October,  eighteen  hundred  and  twenty-seven.  Nicholas  ad¬ 
dressed  flattering  letters  to  the  French  and  English  admirals, 
with  the  Order  of  Saint  Alexander  Nevski  for  M.  de  Rigny, 
and  that  of  Saint  George  for  Codrington. 

The  disaster  of  Navarino  only  exasperated  Sultan  Mahmud. 
He  sent  the  three  powers  a  note  in  which  he  demanded  that 
prior  to  any  negotiation  he  should  receive  a  formal  declara¬ 
tion  that  they  would  renounce  all  interference  in  the  affairs 
of  Turkey  and  Greece,  make  public  and  solemn  reparation 
for  the  insult  offered  to  the  Ottoman  flag,  and  pay  an  indem¬ 
nity  to  the  Porte  for  the  injuries  which  it  had  suffered.  In 
the  mosques  a  holy  war  was  proclaimed,  and  a  general  levy. 
At  Constantinople  such  a  phantom  of  a  national  representa¬ 
tion  as  we  have  again  seen  recently  was  convoked. 


40 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  II. 


England  was  already  beginning  to  regret  the  destruction 
of  the  Turkish  fleet ;  but  France,  in  order  to  give  the  force  of 
law  to  the  decisions  of  the  powers,  disembarked  a  body  of 
troops  in  the  Morea  under  General  Maison,  who  expelled  the 
Turco-Egyptians  from  the  Peninsula.  Nicholas,  joining  his 
private  grievances  to  the  claims  of  Europe,  declared  war  on 
Turkey,  and  ordered  Field-Marshal  Wittgenstein  to  cross  the 
Pruth,  while  Paskievitch  entered  Asia  Minor.  In  Europe 
the  Russians  occupied  Valakhia  and  Moldavia,  passed  the 
Danube  in  the  presence  of  their  Emperor,  and  took  Brailof 
and  Varna.  In  Asia  they  carried  by  assault  the  ancient  for¬ 
tress  of  Kars,  defeated  the  Turks  under  the  walls  of  Akhalt- 
suikh,  and  captured  the  town  after  a  bloody  action. 

England  began  to  be  uneasy,  and  Austria  made  advances 
toward  an  alliance  against  Russia.  Charles  the  Tenth  of 
France  openly  said,  “  If  the  Emperor  Nicholas  attacks  Aus¬ 
tria,  I  will  hold  myself  in  reserve,  and  regulate  my  conduct 
according  to  circumstances  ;  but  if  the  Austrians  begin  the 
attack,  I  will  instantly  march  against  them.”  The  Restora¬ 
tion  hoped  to  find  in  the  struggle  in  the  East  a  revenge  for 
the  treaties  of  eighteen  hundred  and  fifteen.  The  reunion 
to  France  of  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine  or  of  Belgium  was 
discussed  in  the  king’s  council  in  September,  eighteen  hun¬ 
dred  and  twenty-nine ;  and  the  co-operation  of  Russia  was 
counted  on,  in  exchange  for  the  aid  which  France  was  giv¬ 
ing  it  on  the  Danube.  In  a  word,  according  to  the  expres¬ 
sion  of  M.  Nettement,  the  two  powers  were  then  closely 
united,  “  France  against  the  European  statu  quo,  Russia 
against  the  Oriental  statu  quo." 

Nicholas  was  therefore  free  for  the  campaign  of  eighteen 
hundred  and  twenty-nine.  In  Asia,  Count  Paskievitch  de¬ 
feated  two  Turkish  armies  and  captured  Erzerum;  in  Eu¬ 
rope,  Dibitch,  successor  to  Wittgenstein,  defeated  the  Grand 
Vizier  at  Kulevtcha,  near  Pravadui,  and  threw  him  back  in 
disorder  on  the  fortified  camp  of  Shumla,  after  having  killed 


1825-  1855.]  NICHOLAS  T. :  PERSIA  AND  POLAND. 


41 


five  thousand  men  and  taken  forty-three  guns.  After  the 
capitulation  of  Silistria  he  blockaded  Shumla,  boldly  crossed 
the  Balkans,  and  entered  Adrianople,  the  second  city  of  the 
Ottoman  Empire.  At  sea  the  frigate  Mercury  fought  a  heroic 
battle  with  two  Turkish  ships ;  her  crew  had  sworn  either  to 
conquer  or  to  blow  themselves  up. 

At  last  the  Porte  yielded.  Mahmud  had  destroyed  the 
Janissaries,  and  no  regular  army  was  as  yet  constituted. 
Persia  refused  to  undertake  a  new  war  against  Russia.  At 
Adrianople  the  Porte  concluded  two  treaties,  —  one  with  the 
European  powers,  and  the  other  with  Russia.  In  the  first 
it  agreed  to  adhere  to  the  treaty  of  eighteen  hundred  and 
twenty-seven,  and  recognized  the  independence  of  Greece. 
By  the  second  it  surrendered  to  Russia  the  isles  of  the  Dan- 
ubian  delta  in  Europe,  and  the  fortresses  and  districts  of 
Anapa,  Poti,  Akhaltsuikh,  and  Akhalkalaki,  in  Asia ;  it  paid 
an  indemnity  of  one  hundred  and  nineteen  million  francs, 
equivalent  to  nearly  twenty-four  million  dollars,  and  an¬ 
other  of  one  million  five  hundred  thousand  ducats  to  the 
Russian  merchants.  The  immunities  formerly  granted  to 
Moldavia,  Valakhia,  and  Serbia  were  guaranteed,  and  the 
Bosphorus  and  Dardanelles  declared  free  and  open  to  all 
the  powers  at  peace  with  the  Porte.  Russian  commerce 
had  full  and  free  access  to  the  Black  Sea.  Thus  this  first 
alliance  with  Prance  had  secured  the  independence  of  Greece, 
and  prepared  for  that  of  the  Rumanians  and  Serbians. 

Erom  eighteen  hundred  and  forty  to  eighteen  hundred  and 
forty-one  England  was  occupied  with  the  famous  opium  war 
in  China.  The  Russians  had  previously  obtained,  with  less 
trouble,  a  far  more  advantageous  footing  in  the  Celestial  Em¬ 
pire.  By  the  treaty  of  eighteen  hundred  and  twenty-seven 
they  acquired  the  right  to  establish  at  Pekin  a  place  of  edu¬ 
cation  where  young  men  might  study  the  language  and  cus¬ 
toms  of  China.  Nicholas  had  carefully  avoided  clashing  with 
the  Court  of  Pekin  on  the  subject  of  opium ;  and  when  he 


42 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  II. 


heard  of  the  prohibition  he  forbade  his  subjects  to  introduce 
this  commodity  across  the  Russian  frontier.  In  eighteen 
hundred  and  fifty-two  a  new  commercial  treaty  was  made, 
which  opened  a  market  on  the  Irtuish.  This  Western  mar¬ 
ket,  so  called  in  opposition  to  the  Eastern  market  of  Kiakhta, 
afforded  the  Russian  agents  an  opportunity  to  make  closer 
observations  of  Bokhara.  In  spite  of  these  cordial  relations, 
the  Russian  outposts  daily  and  noiselessly  encroached  on  the 
Chinese  territory ;  and  in  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-four 
Europe  was  astonished  to  find  them  established  on  the  Amur. 
Thus,  from  one  end  of  Asia  to  the  other,  Russia  and  England 
found  themselves  face  to  face.  In  their  attempts  to  push 
back  their  frontiers  and  to  extend  their  influence,  both  has¬ 
tened  the  inevitable  moment  when  they  would  be  in  direct 
conflict. 

By  the  acquisition  of  Mingrelia,  Imeritia,  and  Georgia, 
the  Shirvan,  and  the  Persian  and  Turkish  provinces,  Russia 
had  possession  of  the  whole  southern  slope  of  the  Caucasus  ; 
by  the  acquisition  of  Daghestan  it  had  acquired  a  foothold 
on  the  northern  side,  and  thus  completely  surrounded  the  vast 
mountainous  regions  which  constitute  Circassia  and  Abkhasia. 
Numerous  forts  occupied  the  openings  of  the  valleys.  The 
warlike  Tcherkesui  and  Abkhasui,  however,  bravely  defended 
their  independence.  The  road  from  Anapa  to  Poti  was  very 
unsafe,  notwithstanding  the  number  of  fortified  posts.  Nicho¬ 
las  felt  the  necessity  of  securing  communications  with  Southern 
Asia  by  both  extremities  of  the  Caucasus  and  by  intermediate 
passes,  and  of  making  this  enormous  chain  the  impregnable 
citadel  from  the  height  of  which  he  was  to  rule  the  East. 
This  war  with  the  mountain  tribes,  fertile  in  surprises  and 
ambuscades,  was  a  mingled  success  and  failure.  It  took  a 
more  formidable  development  when  Moslem  fanaticism,  awak¬ 
ened  by  the  sectarian  professors  of  Mirditism,  embodied  itself 
in  Shamyl,  the  soldier  priest,  who  gave  to  these  rival  races 
religious  unity,  and  who  for  twenty -five  years  held  the  best 


1825-1855.]  NICHOLAS  I..  PERSIA  AND  POLAND. 


43 


wH9*hamyt;'  ~th&  soldier -priest,  who  gave  to  these  rival  races 
religious  unity,  and  who  for  twenty-live  years  held  the  best 
Russian  generals  in  check.  In  eighteen  hundred  and  forty- 
four  the  insurrection  became  so  great  that  it  was  found  neces¬ 
sary  to  post  two  hundred  thousand  men  in  the  Caucasus  under 
the  brave  and  able  Vorontsof.  The  English  furtively  favored 
the  mountaineers,  and  the  seizure,  in  eighteen  hundred  and 
thirty-seven,  of  the  British  schooner  Vixen,  as  she  was  un¬ 
loading  arms  on  the  coast  of  Abkhasia,  made  some  noise. 
An  Englishman  named  Bell  was  at  the  head  of  the  Geor¬ 
gians  in  their  short  revolt. 

Persia,  where  Eet-Aly-Shah,  the  ally  of  Napoleon  the  First, 
had  been  succeeded  by  his  grandson  Mohammed,  was  com¬ 
pletely  under  Russian  influence.  In  eighteen  hundred  and 
thirty-seven  and  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-eight  Moham¬ 
med  laid  siege  to  Herat,  which  commanded  one  of  the  routes 
to  India.  The  English  obliged  him  to  raise  the  siege  by  cre¬ 
ating  a  diversion  in  the  Persian  Gulf.  They  followed  up  this 
by  another  in  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-six,  and  secured  the 
Isle  of  Karrack  and  the  Port  of  Bushir.  Three  years  after  the 
siege  of  Herat  the  English  themselves  failed  to  capture  Cabul. 

Nicholas,  in  search  for  an  opening  in  another  direction, 
declared  war  against  the  Khan  of  Khiva  under  the  pretext 
of  putting  an  end  to  the  exactions  and  robberies  practised 
against  the  caravans.  In  eighteen  hundred  and  twenty-five 
a  caravan  escorted  by  six  hundred  and  twenty-five  men  wras 
attacked  at  the  crossing  of  the  Iani  River,  and  after  defending 
themselves  for  three  days,  they  were  obliged  to  retire  with  a 
loss  of  more  than  half  a  million  rubles’  worth  of  merchandise. 
It  was  reckoned  that  every  year  twro  hundred  Russians  were 
kidnapped  in  the  steppe  or  on  the  Caspian,  and  sold  in  the 
markets  of  Khiva,  often  with  the  connivance  of  the  Khan. 
In  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-five  as  many  as  a  thousand 
Russian  captives  were  waiting  to  be  ransomed.  The  follow¬ 
ing  year,  after  the  great  fair  at  Nijni-Novgorod,  all  the  Khi- 


44 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  II. 


van  merchants  were  arrested  with  their  goods,  and  the  Khan 
was  informed  that  they  would  not  be  allowed  to  return  to 
Orenburg  and  Astrakhan  until  the  Russians  held  captive  in 
Khiva  were  set  free.  Although  this  inflicted  a  severe  blow 
upon  the  Khan’s  commercial  interests,  he  did  not  yield.  It 
was  then  determined  to  send  a  military  expedition  to  Khiva 
under  command  of  General  Perovski,  which  should  have  for 
its  object  the  increase  of  Russian  influence  in  Central  Asia. 
Extensive  preparations  were  made  during  the  summer  of 
eighteen  hundred  and  forty.  An  army  of  over  four  thousand 
men,  with  two  thousand  horses  and  ten  thousand  camels, 
started  in  November  across  the  sandy  steppes  of  Turkestan. 
The  weather  soon  became  severely  cold,  fuel  was  lacking, 
many  of  the  camels  were  found  to  be  unfit  for  service,  the 
supplies  of  provisions  which  were  ordered  to  be  forwarded 
to  Novo  Aleksandrovsk  failed  to  reach  their  destination,  the 
snow  was  so  deep  as  to  be  almost  impassable,  and  the  Kirgiz 
camel-drivers  were  mutinous.  Perovski’s  situation  became 
hazardous  in  the  extreme.  Before  he  reached  half-way  to 
Khiva  half  of  his  camels  perished.  It  was  clearly  impos¬ 
sible  to  continue  the  advance.  Perovski  wrote  to  the  Minis¬ 
ter  of  War :  “  Our  retreat  will  be  no  less  arduous  than  our 
advance ;  the  four  months’  provisions  stored  at  Emba  are 
sufficient  of  themselves  to  assure  the  existence  of  the  troops, 
but  the  lack  of  wood  and  forage,  the  deep  snows  and  con¬ 
tinual  sharp  frosts,  have  an  undoubtedly  injurious  effect 
upon  the  men  and  the  cattle ;  moreover,  on  account  of  the 
insufficiency  of  camels,  the  majority  of  the  division  will  be 
obliged  to  remain  at  Emba  until  next  spring.”  Near  the 
middle  of  June  the  little  army  reached  Orenburg  after  a 
disastrous  eight  months  spent  in  the  steppe.  More  than 
a  thousand  men  died  during  this  time.  In  spite  of  this  fail¬ 
ure  another  expedition  was  planned,  but  the  Khan,  who  saw 
that  things  began  to  wear  a  serious  aspect,  offered  satisfac¬ 
tion.  He  returned  four  hundred  and  eighteen  Russian  cap- 


1825  -  1855.]  NICHOLAS  I.:  PEKSIA  AND  POLAND. 


45 


tives,  and  issued  a  firman  decreeing  the  penalty  of  death 
against  any  Khivan  who  should  dare  to  attempt  the  life  or 
liberty  of  a  Russian  subject.  It  was  clear,  however,  that 
a  serious  attempt  against  Khiva  would  not  be  practicable  till 
the  enormous  distance  of  two  hundred  leagues,  which  sepa¬ 
rated  this  oasis  from  the  Russian  frontiers,  should  be  made 
easier  by  the  establishment  of  a  line  of  fortified  posts,  by 
the  more  complete  subjection  of  the  savage  hordes,  and  by 
the  construction  of  a  fleet  on  the  Sea  of  Aral. 

The  navigation  of  the  Sea  of  Aral  was  initiated  in  eighteen 
hundred  and  forty-seven.  Lieutenant  Butakof  began  a  com¬ 
plete  survey  of  it  on  the  steamer  Konstantin.  In  eighteen 
hundred  and  fifty-three  General  Perovski  occupied  Ak  Meshet, 
the  principal  fort  of  the  Kokanese.  A  year  later  the  Khan  of 
Khiva  became  a  kind  of  vassal  of  the  Tsar,  and  was  kept 
under  strict  surveillance  by  the  resident  Russian  ambas¬ 
sador. 

THE  POLISH  INSURRECTION. 

Towards  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty  Russia  found 
itself  in  a  singular  state  of  uneasiness.  The  cholera  was  just 
making  its  appearance ;  fierce  revolts  had  broken  out  at  Sta- 
aira  Rusa,  Sevastopol,  and  Novgorod.  The  peasants,  who 
were  chiefly  attacked  by  this  dreadful  scourge,  thought  that 
it  was  in  consequence  of  a  plot  made  by  the  upper  classes 
against  them ;  they  broke  into  the  hospitals,  killed  the  doc¬ 
tors,  and  removed  the  patients  by  violence.  They  also 
hung  and  tortured  the  officers  of  the  military  colonies,  and 
committed  the  most  horrible  atrocities.  The  suffering  and 
disorder  among  the  lower  classes  was  relieved  by  the  noble 
generosity  of  many  wealthy  citizens,  who  established  hospi¬ 
tals  and  gave  largely  to  the  poor.  The  Emperor  seemed 
agitated  by  gloomy  presentiments.  In  France  the  conser¬ 
vative  ministry  published  a  body  of  ordinances  which  en¬ 
tirely  altered  the  constitution  of  the  country,  and  destroyed 


46 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  II. 


the  freedom  of  the  press.  This  measure  led  to  the  insurrec¬ 
tion  of  July.  The  French  government  proved  to  be  powerless 
to  crush  it,  and  after  the  streets  of  Paris  had  run  with  blood 
for  three  days,  the  city  was  left  to  the  mercy  of  the  mob. 
Charles  the  Tenth  abdicated  in  favor  of  his  grandson,  and 
took  refuge  in  England.  It  seemed  likely  that  a  ministry 
of  the  Left  would  come  into  power,  and  that  a  continental 
war  would  be  the  result. 

Nicholas,  at  the  first  news  of  this  uprising  of  the  French, 
was  unable  to  control  his  indignation.  He  immediately 
ordered  the  army  in  Poland  to  be  put  on  a  war-footing. 
He  would  gladly  have  headed  a  coalition  to  march  against 
France  and  re-establish  the  ancient  order  of  things.  He 
was  still  more  shocked  by  the  Belgian  and  Italian  revolu¬ 
tions  which  immediately  followed.  The  moral  epidemic 
which  led  the  people  of  Europe  to  think  of  freedom  was 
something  to  be  more  dreaded  than  the  Asiatic  cholera. 

The  tricolor  flag,  the  flag  of  seventeen  hundred  and  ninety- 
nine  and  eighteen  hundred  and  twelve,  which  replaced  the 
white  flag  of  royalty  upon  the  French  Consulate  at  Warsaw, 
hastened  the  explosion  of  the  Polish  revolution. 

The  time  was  already  far  in  the  past  when  Alexander, 
while  opening  the  Diet  of  eighteen  hundred  and  eighteen, 
boasted  of  “those  liberal  institutions  which  had  not  ceased 
to  be  the  object  of  his  watchful  care,”  and  which  allowed 
him  to  show  Russia  itself  “  what  he  had  been  for  so  many 
years  preparing  for  it.”  It  was  a  long  day  since  he  congrat¬ 
ulated  the  Polish  deputies  on  having  rejected  the  proposed 
law  regulating  divorce,  since  he  proclaimed  to  them  “  that, 
having  been  freely  elected,  they  must  freely  vote.” 

There  was  no  question  that  the  material  prosperity  of  the 
kingdom  was  increasing.  Commerce  and  manufactures 
were  becoming  more  and  more  widely  developed ;  the 
finances  were  in  a  satisfactory  state,  and  from  the  remnant 
of  the  Napoleonic  legions  the  Grand  Duke  Konstantin  had 


1825-1855.]  NICHOLAS  I.:  PERSIA  AND  POLAND. 


47 


formed  an  excellent  army  of  sixty  thousand  men.  Unhap¬ 
pily,  it  was  very  difficult  for  Alexander,  who  in  the  latter 
years  of  his  life  had  become  more  and  more  autocratic  in 
Russia,  to  accommodate  himself  in  Poland  to  the  liberty  of 
a  representative  government.  The  Diet  of  eighteen  hundred 
and  twenty  irritated  him  profoundly  by  its  attack  on  the 
ministers,  and  its  rejection  of  certain  projects  of  law.  He 
looked  on  these  ordinary  incidents  of  parliamentary  practice 
as  an  attempt  to  attack  and  undermine  his  authority.  He  lent 
an  ear  to  the  counsels  of  Karamsin  and  Araktcheef.  He 
put  forth  an  “additional  act  of  the  constitution  ”  which  for¬ 
bade  the  sittings  of  the  Diet  to  be  open  to  the  public.  After 
the  session  of  eighteen  hundred  and  twenty-two  the  convoca¬ 
tion  of  the  Estates  was  adjourned  indefinitely.  The  liberty 
of  the  press  was  restrained,  and  the  police  became  more  vexa¬ 
tious.  The  soldiers  complained  of  the  severity,  and  some¬ 
times  of  the  brutality,  of  the  Grand  Duke  Konstantin,  who 
was  full  of  good  intentions,  who  loved  Poland,  and  had  given 
proof  of  it  by  sacrificing  the  crown  of  Russia  for  a  Polish 
lady,  but  who  could  never  control  his  impetuous  and  eccen¬ 
tric  character.  The  officers  who  had  served  under  Dombrov- 
ski,  Poniatovski,  and  Napoleon  found  it  almost  impossible  to 
accommodate  themselves  to  the  Muscovite  discipline.  An¬ 
cient  jealousies  and  national  hate,  revived  by  the  events  of 
eighteen  hundred  and  twelve,  were  on  the  point  of  breaking 
out  between  the  two  peoples.  Besides  the  Polish  malcon¬ 
tents  who  grumbled  at  the  violations  of  the  Constitution  oi 
eighteen  hundred  and  fifteen,  and  were  enraged  at  the  Em¬ 
peror  for  not  having  restored  to  the  kingdom  the  palatinates 
of  White  Russia,  there  was  the  party  which  dreamed  of  the 
Constitution  of  the  third  of  May,  seventeen  hundred  and 
ninety-one,  or  of  a  republic,  and  which  desired  to  re-estab¬ 
lish  Poland  in  its  ancient  independence,  and  within  its  an¬ 
cient  limits.  The  secret  associations  of  the  Templars  and 
the  Patriotic  Society  were  formed.  The  trial  of  the  Russian 


48 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  II. 


dekabrists  had  revealed  an  understanding  between  the  con¬ 
spirators  of  the  two  nations. 

Konstantin  made  another  mistake,  that  of  persuading  the 
Emperor  Nicholas  that  the  Polish  army  should  not  be  em¬ 
ployed  against  the  Turks.  He  loved  this  army  after  his 
own  fashion,  and  his  saying  has  been  quoted,  “  I  detest  war ; 
it  spoils  an  army.”  Victories  gained  in  common  over  the 
ancient  enemy  of  the  two  peoples  might  have  created  a  bond 
of  military  fraternity  between  the  Russian  and  Polish  armies, 
given  an  opening  to  the  warlike  ardor  of  the  Polish  youth, 
and  crowned  with  glory  the  union  of  the  two  nations.  Kon¬ 
stantin’s  unpopularity  increased  in  consequence  of  this  error. 
Nothing,  however,  was  as  yet  imperilled.  When  the  Em¬ 
peror  Nicholas  came  to  open  the  Diet  of  May,  eighteen  hun¬ 
dred  and  thirty,  in  person,  his  presence  in  Warsaw  excited 
some  hopes.  In  spite  of  the  reserve  which  the  deputies  had 
imposed  on  themselves,  they  could  not  refrain  from  rejecting 
the  unhappy  scheme  of  the  law  of  divorce,  from  lodging  com¬ 
plaints  against  the  ministers,  and  uttering  a  wish  for  the  re¬ 
union  of  the  Lithuanian  provinces  with  Poland.  This  wish 
could  not,  of  course,  be  granted  by  Nicholas  without  deeply 
wounding  the  patriotism  and  the  rights  of  Russia.  The 
“  King  of  Poland  ”  and  his  subjects  separated  with  discon¬ 
tent  on  both  sides ;  the  secret  societies  became  more  active 
than  ever  in  their  conspiracies,  and  the  news  from  Paris 
found  all  the  elements  of  a  revolution  already  prepared. 

Zalivski,  one  of  the  leading  members  of  the  secret  socie¬ 
ties,  on  receiving  the  first  news  of  the  July  revolution,  called 
a  meeting  of  the  sub-lieutenant  Vysotski  and  his  confidants, 
in  order  to  decide  upon  taking  action.  Finding  their  strength 
as  yet  insufficient,  another  meeting  was  held  about  the  middle 
of  August  by  some  twenty  active  men  who  were  united  in 
their  desire  to  strike  a  decided  blow,  but  who  were  at  odds 
regarding  the  time.  Zalivski  was  in  favor  of  postponing 
action  until  February,  and  in  this  he  was  supported  by 


1825-1855.]  NICHOLAS  I.:  PERSIA  AND  POLAND. 


49 


Ostrovski,  Urbanski,  and  others  who  felt  that  a  military  in¬ 
surrection  without  the  support  of  the  people  would  be  un¬ 
successful.  They  also  felt  the  need  of  an  efficient  director. 
Some  of  the  old  generajs,  Shembek,  Stanislas,  Pototski, 
Khlopitski,  were  brought  to  take  the  lead,  but  they  all  felt 
that  it  was  a  fool-hardy  undertaking  to  try  to  incite  the 
provinces  into  a  triple  war  with  Russia,  Prussia,  and  Austria. 

The  young  enthusiasts  were  not  discouraged  by  this  opposi¬ 
tion.  Vysotski,  Schlegel,  and  others  soon  formed  an  organi¬ 
zation  which  spread  rapidly  in  all  the  Polish  regiments 
stationed  in  Warsaw.  They  sent  out  emissaries  into  the 
provinces  of  Lithuania,  Podolia,  and  Volhynia,  in  order  to 
win  over  soldiers  and  citizens  to  the  patriotic  cause  ;  while 
the  students  of  the  universities  and  the  cadets  belonging 
to  the  School  of  the  Standard-bearers  entered  into  the  con¬ 
spiracy  with  all  zeal,  the  older  officers  of  the  army,  Pats, 
Zymirski,  Skrzynetski,  and  others  refused  their  co-operation^^ 
though  they  had  keen  sympathy  with  the  patriotic  motives 
which  stimulated  the  revolutionary  party.  L  f 

The  explosion  of  the  revolution  was  hastened  by  the, 
appearance  of  the  Emperor’s  manifesto  at  the  end  of  Octo¬ 
ber,  which  seemed  to  threaten  still  greater  diminution  of 
the  Polish  liberties.  Zalivski  was  informed  that  Nicholas 
designed  either  to  force  France  to  join  the  Russian  Coalition 
or  to  incorporate  the  whole  of  Poland  into  his  dominion  at 
the  expense  of  Prussia  and  Austria.  It  therefore  appeared 
to  these  young  men  a  noble  thing  to  prevent  Poland  on  the 
one  hand  from  falling  a  prey  to  Russia,  and  on  the  other  to 
prevent  its  being  ranged  against  the  European  movement  for 
popular  freedom  as  manifested  in  Paris  and  Brussels. 

Besides  these  patriotic  motives  for  decisive  action,  there 
doubtless  existed  others  which  had  a  great  weight :  the  rapid 
growth  of  the  association,  and  the  large  numbers  interested  in 
the  movement,  gave  constantly  increasing  chances  that  the 
police  would  detect  it,  in  spite  of  the  careful  arrangements 


YOL.  III. 


50 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  II. 


made  by  Zalivski,  who  was  kept  informed  of  every  step  taken 
by  all  of  the  initiated.  Nevertheless,  signs  of  the  approaching 
storm  occasionally  cropped  out ;  the  vice-president,  Liubovitski, 
was  beaten  in  the  street ;  a  letter  was  nailed  upon  the  wall 
of  Konstantin’s  villa,  Belvedere,  warning  him  of  the  new 
year.  The  Grand  Duke  was  warned  by  Liubovitski  of  the 
conspiracy.  Novosiltsof  knew  of  the  league  between  the 
students  and  the  cadets.  One  of  the  cadets  played  the  part 
of  informer ;  double  watch  was  kept  upon  the  school  by 
General  Trembetski,  who  forbade  them  to  have  any  inter¬ 
course  with  the  city.  A  commission  of  investigation  was 
established,  and  Urbanski,  one  of  the  original  conspirators, 
was  arrested.  Vysotski  himself  was  put  under  examination, 
but  as  nothing  was  proved  against  him,  he  was  set  at  lib¬ 
erty. 

There  was  evidently  no  time  to  lose,  and  as  the  conspira¬ 
tors  counted  upon  having  forty  thousand  men  under  arms, 
small  doubts  were  entertained  that  the  whole  nation  would 
not  follow  so  brave  a  leading.  Zalivski  and  Vysotski,  the 
leaders  of  the  movement,  decided  to  appoint  the  night  of 
November  twenty-nine  for  the  outbreak,  as  they  knew  that 
the  city  would  be  guarded  entirely  by  Poles. 

The  evening  before,  the  officers  of  all  the  Polish  regiments 
were  summoned  to  the  house  of  sub-Lieutenant  Barkievitch, 
where  the  plan  of  action  was  disclosed  to  them.  It  was  re¬ 
solved  to  begin  by  surprising  Belvedere,  seizing  or  killing 
the  Grand  Duke,  and  putting  to  death  the  hated  instruments 
of  Russian  oppression  as  well  as  those  Polish  officers  who  set 
themselves  in  opposition  to  the  conspiracy. 

The  Grand  Duke,  in  spite  of  the  warnings  which  he  had 
received  and  his  conviction  that  the  Poles  were  ready  to  em¬ 
brace  the  opportunity  of  showing  themselves  unfriendly,  re¬ 
mained  in  apparent  heedlessness.  He  was  loath  to  entertain 
doubts  of  his  army,  and  Liubetski,  in  his  report,  said  that  the 
plot  was  being  undertaken  by  “  lawyers  without  clients,  physi- 


1825-1855.]  NICHOLAS  I:  PERSIA  AND  POLAND. 


51 


cians  without  patients,  and  young  officers  unwilling  to  occupy 
subordinate  positions.”  lie  felt  that  he  had  little  to  fear  from 
a  mob,  as  Vielopolski  called  it,  composed  of  the  refuse  of  all 
classes,  — faithless  monks,  dissipated  nobles,  dishonest  officials, 
young  demagogues  and  corporals,  ruined  proprietors,  bank¬ 
rupt  debtors,  and  a  rabble  with  communistic  tendencies. 
In  case  of  such  an  outbreak  he  would  withdraw  from  the  city 
a  day  or  two  until  order  was  restored. 

The  Russian  force  stationed  in  Warsaw  amounted  to  about 
eight  thousand  men  scattered  in  different  parts  of  the  city ; 
only  in  the  matter  of  cavalry  were  they  superior  to  the  Polish 
garrison.  Zalivski  drew  up  an  admirable  plan  of  attack, 
which  failed  to  be  carried  out,  owing  to  the  carelessness  of 
those  who  had  charge  of  the  details. 

General  Stanislas  Pototski  was  to  have  the  supervision  of 
all  the  operations.  A  portion  of  the  infantry,  together  with 
the  cadets  led  by  Vysotski,  under  Sieravski,  were  to  surround 
and  disarm  the  three  Russian  regiments  stationed  in  the  bar¬ 
racks  of  the  Shulets  quarter  ;  the  Polish  guard  under  General 
Zymirski  were  to  disarm  the  Russian  grenadier-guard  in  the 
northern  portion  of  the  city ;  other  troops  were  ordered  to 
seize  the  arsenal,  to  protect  the  bank,  to  occupy  Praga  and 
the  bridge  over  the  Vistula,  and  to  take  the  powder-magazine. 
The  Russian  generals  were  to  be  captured  as  they  attempted 
to  join  their  regiments.  Bronikovski  had  charge  of  the  popu¬ 
lar  revolt.  All  the  Russian  garrisons  in  the  vicinity  of  War¬ 
saw  were  also  to  be  surprised,  and  the  insurrection  was  to  be 
carried  into  the  provinces. 

Unfortunately  Sieravski  was  absent  on  the  eventful  day. 
Pototski  knew  nothing  of  the  fact  that  he  had  been  appointed 
generalissimo.  Vysotski  failed  to  inform  the  Polish  guard 
of  the  time  set  for  them  to  take  arms ;  the  Polish  regiment 
of  mounted  sharp-shooters  were  opposed  to  the  insurrection. 
Only  three  of  the  leaders  —  Zalivski,  Vysotski,  and  Urbanski  — 
were  found  at  their  posts. 


52 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  II. 


It  was  decided  to  give  the  signal  about  six  o’clock  by 
setting  on  fire  a  brewery  near  the  barracks  in  the  Shulets 
quarter.  The  party  of  students  and  citizens  under  command 
of  Nabielak  and  the  poet  Gostchinski,  which  had  been  de¬ 
tailed  to  secure  the  Grand  Duke’s  person,  assembled  in  La- 
zienski  Park  and  waited  for  the  light  of  the  signal.  The  fire- 
bells  gave  them  the  first  intimation  that  the  beacon  had  been 
lighted,  and,  a  tumult  ensuing,  this  band  scattered  without 
accomplishing  its  object.  Nabielak  hastened  to  the  School 
of  Ensigns,  where  all  was  quiet.  On  his  way  back  he  met 
Vysotski  and  a  few  followers,  who  summoned  the  cadets  to 
arms.  They  demanded  cartridges.  “  Cartridges  !  ”  cried 
Vysotski,  “you  will  find  them  in  the  boxes  of  the  Russians.” 

Nabielak,  taking  a  handful  of  the  cadets,  rushed  to  the 
palace  of  the  Belvedere,  where  they  forced  their  way  through 
barricaded  doors,  but  failed  to  find  the  Grand  Duke.  Kon¬ 
stantin,  with  the  Prussian  ambassador  Schmidt,  had  just  time 
to  escape  to  a  small  cottage  in  the  vicinity.  The  party  found 
only  Liubovitski,  the  director  of  the  police,  and  General  Zan¬ 
der,  whom  they  mistook  for  Konstantin.  Both  of  these  offi¬ 
cers  they  left  for  dead. 

The  rest  of  the  cadets,  one  hundred  and  sixty  in  number, 
who  hastened  to  surprise  and  disarm  the  Russian  cavalry  at 
the  barracks,  failed  of  their  purpose  as  completely  as  those 
who  attempted  to  seize  the  Grand  Duke.  When  they  arrived 
at  the  barracks,  under  command  of  Vysotski,  Schlegel,  and 
Dombrovski,  thev  looked  about  for  the  reinforcements  which 
were  to  meet  them  there.  Being  conscious  of  their  weakness 
in  numbers,  they  neglected  to  secure  the  drawbridges  de¬ 
fending  the  barracks,  and  withdrew  to  the  alder  grove  and 
the  Sobieski  bridge,  where  the  band  from  the  Belvedere  joined 
them. 

Zalivski,  who  had  been  vainly  waiting  for  several  hours 
for  the  signal,  at  last  took  it  upon  himself  to  set  on  fire  a 
small  wooden  house  near  the  arsenal.  In  a  short  time  all 


1825-1855.]  NICHOLAS  I.:  PERSIA  AND  POLAND. 


53 


the  Polish  troops,  the  infantry,  a  battalion  of  sappers,  the 
horse  artillery,  and  a  regiment  of  grenadiers  hastened  to  this 
point,  seized  a  quantity  of  arms,  and  distributed  forty  thou¬ 
sand  muskets  among  the  people.  The  fire  near  the  arsenal 
alarmed  the  Russian  troops  in  the  other  parts  of  the  city,  as 
well  as  the  Polish  regiments.  Had  not  the  guards  been  com¬ 
posed  of  national  troops,  the  revolution  would  have  been  imme¬ 
diately  crushed.  It  was  now  about  the  arsenal  that  the  re¬ 
volt  grouped  itself.  Zalivski  held  the  approaches  with  two 
companies  of  grenadiers,  and  managed  to  capture  the  gen¬ 
erals  of  the  Volhynian  and  Lithuanian  regiments,  Engelmann 
and  Iesakof.  The  Polish  General  Blumer  attempted  to  re¬ 
sist,  ordered  his  men  to  fire,  and  was  himself  killed.  Stanis¬ 
las  Pototski  was  put  to  death  by  the  angry  populace  because 
he  refused  to  take  the  command  of  the  army.  The  war  min¬ 
ister  Hauke,  Colonel  Mietsishevski,  Colonel  Sass,  and  Trem- 
betski,  the  head  of  the  School  of  Ensigns,  also  fell  victims  to 
the  indignation  of  the  people.  The  brave  General  Novitski, 
who  was  mistaken  for  Mayor  Levitski,  suffered  the  same  fate. 

The  Grand  Duke,  who  was  entirely  confused  by  the  attack 
upon  the  Belvedere,  instead  of  resolutely  grappling  with  the 
insurgents,  determined  to  evacuate  the  city.  He  pitched  his 
camp  in  a  little  village  a  mile  from  Warsaw.  The  Russian 
generals  were  in  favor  of  decisive  and  immediate  action,  but 
his  Polish  followers  advised  him  to  discontinue  hostilities. 
He  was  unable  to  come  to  any  decision,  and  thus  he  wasted 
two  precious  days,  in  which  the  revolution  had  time  to  spread. 
One  regiment  after  another  joined  the  patriotic  cause.  While 
Konstantin  waited  for  reinforcements  from  the  provinces  he 
expressed  a  wish  to  listen  to  the  desires  of  the  Poles,  and  a 
deputation  consisting  of  Princes  Tchartoruiski  and  Ostrovski, 
Liubetski  and  Lelevel,  the  celebrated  professor  and  historian, 
conferred  with  him  on  December  second.  The  Princess  Lo- 
vitch  was  present,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  heap  scorn  upon 
Liubetski  and  to  designate  Lelevel  as  the  cause  of  the  mis- 


54 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  II. 


chief.  The  deputation  demanded  surety  for  the  inviolability 
of  the  constitution,  and  the  accomplishment  of  the  union  with 
the  Lithuanian  provinces.  The  Grand  Duke  could  make  only 
vague  replies,  and  contented  himself  with  suggesting  an  ex¬ 
change  of  prisoners,  and  promising  not  to  attack  the  city  with¬ 
out  two  days’  notice. 

The  Grand  Duke  flattered  himself  that  the  larger  part  of 
the  Polish  troops  had  remained  faithful  to  him,  but  Lelevel 
looked  at  his  watch  and  said,  “  They  are  so  no  longer  ” ;  and, 
indeed,  at  that  very  moment  General  Shembek  was  being  un¬ 
willingly  carried  away  by  the  enthusiasm  of  the  younger  offi¬ 
cers,  and  joined  the  insurgents.  His  defection  gave  the  signal 
to  the  rest.  The  Grand  Duke,  still  trusting  in  his  army,  gave 
permission  to  all  the  Poles  who  had  remained  faithful  to  him 
to  return  to  Warsaw,  and  his  grief  was  keen  when,  without 
exception,  they  renounced  their  allegiance  and  joined  their 
compatriots. 

The  Grand  Duke  now  saw  that  his  position  was  untenable, 
and,  breaking  up  his  camp  at  Mokotof,  he  proceeded  by  short 
stages  to  evacuate  the  country.  His  troops,  who  marched 
without  discipline  and  were  ill  supplied  with  provisions,  com¬ 
mitted  the  most  terrible  excesses  upon  the  proprietors  and  peas¬ 
ants  whom  they  met.  But  no  steps  were  taken  to  interrupt 
him  in  his  retreat,  or  to  liberate  General  Lukasinski,  who  was 
carried  off  in  chains.  The  historians  of  the  Polish  insurrection 
consider  that  this  studied  policy  of  allowing  the  eight  thou¬ 
sand  troops  of  the  enemy  to  leave  the  country  was  the  fatal 
mistake  of  the  conspirators.  Had  an  attempt  been  made  to 
annihilate  or  take  them  prisoners,  the  Grand  Duke  would  have 
been  prevented  from  bringing  to  the  frontier  the  nucleus  of  a 
strong  army  well  provided  with  arms  and  ammunition,  and  the 
Lithuanians  would  have  been  incited  to  emulate  their  example. 
Konstantin  crossed  the  Vistula  at  Pulavy  on  December  sixth, 
and  a  week  later  he  reached  the  Bug,  where  he  halted  and 
immediately  began  to  weed  out  from  his  troops  the  revolu- 


KHLOPITSKI 


1825  -1855.]  NICHOLAS  I.:  PERSIA  AND  POLAND.  55 

tionary  element,  by  distributing  among  distant  regiments 
those  officers  who  were  suspected  of  favoring  the  revolt. 

At  the  very  beginning  of  the  trouble  Prince  Liubetski, 
assured  of  his  popularity  among  the  people  and  his  influence 
with  the  Emperor,  had  hastened  to  convoke  the  council  of 
administration,  to  which  he  added  a  certain  number  of  the 
more  popular  citizens  who  were  opposed  to  the  revolution. 
He  desired  to  bring  about  a  reconciliation  with  the  Emperor 
before  matters  had  proceeded  too  far.  He  thought  if  a  res¬ 
toration  of  the  constitution  should  be  granted,  that  the  major¬ 
ity  of  the  people  would  be  satisfied,  without  paying  attention 
to  Zalivski’s  threatening  demands. 

General  Pats,  who  temporarily  filled  the  office  of  general¬ 
issimo,  like  the  other  older  officers  was  alarmed  and  full  of 
disquiet.  When,  finally,  Khlopitski  accepted  the  office,  it 
was  only  on  condition  that  it  was  in  the  name  of  the  Em¬ 
peror.  Many  of  the  most  patriotic  citizens  felt  that  it  was  a 
ruinous  plan  to  carry  the  revolt  further,  and  the  council  issued 
a  proclamation  entreating  the  people  “  to  end  all  their  agitation 
with  the  night  which  had  covered  them  with  her  mantle,”  and 
assuring  them  that  the  Grand  Duke  had  forbidden  the  Rus¬ 
sian  soldiery  to  interfere. 

This  proclamation  was  distasteful  to  the  original  supporters 
of  the  revolution,  who  saw  plainly  enough  that  to  be  success¬ 
ful  there  must  be  no  chance  for  reconciliation,  that  the  split 
between  government  and  people  must  be  so  wide  that  a  sort 
of  despair  would  nerve  their  hearts  to  bravest  resistance.  It 
was  to  them,  therefore,  a  cruel  mistake  that  the  Grand  Duke 
was  allowed  to  escape  imprisonment  or  assassination. 

They  felt  that  their  only  hope  of  success  against  the  great 
army  which  they  knew  would  be  led  into  Poland  in  a  few 
days  would  be  to  unite  with  the  Lithuanian  troops  and  make 
of  it  a  national  war,  establish  the  independence  of  Poland,  and 
bar  the  Russians  from  entering  Europe.  These  enthusiasts 
wanted  to  be  led  by  their  old  and  favorite  generals  in  this 


50 


HISTORY  OR  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  II 


desperate  but  glorious  contest,  and  their  disappointment  wa3 
indeed  bitter  when  they  found  them  inclined  to  half-measures 
and  unwilling  to  run  the  risks  which  they  themselves  gladly 
ran.  Zalivski  could  not  be  consoled  when  Vysotski  wrote  an 
article  for  a  Polish  newspaper  in  which  he  said  that  the  plot 
was  the  work  of  a  few  youths,  and  had  not  the  sympathy  of 
the  whole  nation. 

Two  parties,  therefore,  were  organized  in  the  bosom  of  the 
State,  opposed  in  all  their  interests  :  the  aristocratic,  conser¬ 
vative  party,  who  wished  to  mend  the  link  which  had  been 
broken  with  the  legal  government  by  soliciting,  at  the  most, 
a  reform  of  the  constitution  and  the  annexation  of  the  Lithua¬ 
nian  palatinates  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  party  of  the 
radicals  or  democrats,  who  insisted  on  the  abdication  of  the 
Romanofs,  the  restoration  to  the  country  of  its  independence, 
and  the  recovery  by  arms,  if  necessary,  of  the  lost  provinces. 

The  failure  of  the  revolution  was  due  to  this  lack  of  unity. 
Prom  the  second  day  of  the  outbreak  they  began  to  measure 
their  strength,  and  to  try  each  to  supplant  the  other  in  the 
direction  of  affairs. 

The  young  revolutionists,  angered  at  the  management  of 
the  administrative  council  and  by  Khlopitski’s  actions,  under 
the  auspices  of  Lelevel  opened  a  Patriotic  club,  which  was  far 
from  being  select  in  its  choice  of  members.  Open  meetings 
were  held ;  a  daily  paper  was  published ;  the  object  of  this 
society  was  “  to  watch  over  all  the  departments  of  the  admin¬ 
istration,  to  see  that  the  measures  adopted  were  congenial  to 
the  wishes  of  the  people  and  in  the  spirit  of  the  revolution, 
and  to  promote  fraternity  and  union  throughout  the  nation.” 

The  day  after  the  formation  of  the  Patriotic  club,  Khlopit- 
ski,  the  generalissimo,  caused  the  arrest  of  Zalivski  and  Ur- 
banski  as  disturbers  of  the  peace.  They  were  set  free  almost 
immediately,  and  brought  before  Liubetski,  who  apologized 
for  the  action.  Liubetski,  gradually  yielding  to  the  pressure 
of  the  revolutionary  element,  appointed  an  executive  council 


1825-1855.]  NICHOLAS  I.:  PERSIA  AND  POLAND. 


57 


supplementary  to  the  council  of  administration,  so  that  now, 
side  by  side  with  the  aristocratic  Radzivil,  Khlopitski,  ancl 
Kokhanovski,  sat  the  most  impetuous  of  the  patriots,  Gustaf 
Malakhovski,  Dembovski,  Ostrovski,  and  Lelevel. 

When  the  Patriotic  club  learned  the  failure  of  the  negotia¬ 
tions  with  the  Grand  Duke,  they  sent  a  deputation  to  the 
council  of  administration,  demanding  that  the  Russians  should 
be  disarmed,  that  the  revolution  should  be  organized  in  the 
provinces,  and  that  measures  of  offensive  and  defensive  war¬ 
fare  be  immediately  undertaken  ;  they  added  the  threat,  that, 
if  these  demands  were  not  acceded  to  before  morning,  a 
change  would  be  made  in  the  council.  The  action  of  Gen¬ 
eral  Shembek’s  regiment  decided  Liubetski,  and  he  added 
to  the  council  four  of  the  most  advanced  radicals  of  the  club. 
On  the  same  day  he  appointed  in  place  of  the  executive  coun¬ 
cil  a  provisory  revolutionary  government,  from  which  he  took 
pains  to  exclude  himself  and  the  four  members  of  the  club,  as 
well  as  Radzivil.  This  government  consisted  of  seven  men, 
Tchartoruiski,  Kokhanovski,  Lelevel,  Pats,  Dembovski,  Niem- 
tsevitch,  and  Ostrovski,  who  admitted  into  their  sittings  some 
members  of  the  Patriotic  club.  Mokhnatski,  one  of  the  lead¬ 
ers  of  the  revolt,  seized  the  opportunity  to  condemn  as  treach¬ 
ery  the  action  of  the  provisional  government  in  regard  to 
Russia.  This  attack  aroused  all  the  opposition  in  Khlopit- 
ski’s  fiery  nature.  Khlopitski  was  a  brave  soldier  of  sixty 
years  of  age.  He  had  served  with  distinction  in  Italy  under 
Dombrovski  and  Napoleon,  and  had  won  laurels  in  Spain  with 
the  Duke  of  Albuera.  By  his  opposition  to  the  Grand  Duke’s 
military  measures  he  had  become  extremely  popular  with  the 
,  whole  nation ;  but  he  saw  no  hope  for  Poland  now,  save  in  a 
prompt  reconciliation  with  the  Emperor.  The  revolutionary 
plans  of  the  young  radicals  were  absolutely  distasteful  to  this 
stiff-necked  believer  in  law  and  discipline.  He  did  not  try 
to  dissimulate  his  feelings  ;  he  continued  to  wear  his  Russian 
orders  ;  he  declared  his  unwillingness  to  waste  powder  in 


58 


HISTORY  OR  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  II. 


order  to  join  the  palatinates  to  Poland.  He  believed  that 
the  blame  of  the  insurrection  might  in  large  measure  be  laid 
upon  the  Grand  Duke’s  followers,  who  had  made  a  real  union 
between  Poles  and  Russians  impossible.  He  felt  that  the  only 
chance  for  the  Poles  was  in  some  one  man  who  should  pos¬ 
sess  their  entire  confidence,  or  who  could  force  them  to  abso¬ 
lute  submission  to  his  will ;  and  he  had  no  choice  between 
resigning  his  position  as  generalissimo  and  being,  on  the 
other  hand,  placed  in  complete  command.  Mokhnatski’s 
attack  so  incensed  him  that  he  decided  upon  the  former 
alternative ;  and  Tchartoruiski  and  Niemtsevitch  in  vain 
implored  him  to  retain  his  place.  The  Patriotic  club  was 
divided  by  this  action.  The  academical  students  who 
had  been  organized  into  a  crack  regiment  openly  renounced 
Mokhnatski,  and  an  opposition  club  was  started  by  Marquis 
Vielopolski,  which  had  leanings  towards  the  aristocratic  prin¬ 
ciples.  The  Septemvirate,  also  divided  against  itself,  now 
offered  Khlopitski  the  dictatorship  instead  of  the  office  which 
he  had  laid  down.  Khlopitski,  entirely  scorning  this  offer, 
declared  that  in  such  times  of  peril  the  civil  and  military 
power  ought  to  be  in  the  hands  of  one  man,  and  that  by 
reason  of  his  long  services  he  felt  himself  entitled  to  claim 
the  post  of  dictator,  which  he  should  retain  until  the  assem¬ 
blage  of  the  Diet,  which  was  appointed  for  the  eighteenth  of 
September.  The  people  in  general  had  no  inkling  of  Khlo- 
pitski’s  true  designs.  The  glamour  of  his  previous  reputation 
and  his  eminent  character  deceived  his  countrymen.  The 
army  had  more  confidence  in  him  than  in  the  revolutionary 
officers  who  opposed  his  designs.  The  aristocratic  party  tri¬ 
umphed  when  they  saw  the  power  firmly  vested  in  Khlo¬ 
pitski. 

The  Dictator  now  proceeded  to  adopt  the  measures  in 
which  he  conceived  lay  safety  for  the  country.  The  provi¬ 
sional  government  was  reinstated  with  the  exception  of  Lele- 
vel;  but  its  duties  were  confined  to  internal  affairs.  The 


59 


1825  -1855.]  NICHOLAS  I.:  PERSIA  AND  POLAND. 

clubs  were  suppressed.  The  Lithuanians,  Gallicians,  and 
Prussians  who  were  flocking  to  the  assistance  of  the  revolu¬ 
tionists  were  directed  to  return  home.  The  Emperor’s  name 
was  mentioned  in  the  church  service.  He  despatched  Count 
Iezierski  and  Prince  Liubetski  to  Saint  Petersburg  to  bring 
to  the  Emperor  the  complaints  of  the  Poles  against  the  Grand 
Duke’s  management,  and  to  ask  only  that  the  promises  which 
had  been  made  might  be  fulfilled.  The  desires  of  his  Polish 
subjects  did  not  go  beyond  the  carrying  out  of  the  constitu¬ 
tion,  the  removal  of  the  Russian  garrisons,  and  the  union  of 
the  Lithuanian  provinces.  Khlopitski  wrote  a  letter  to  the 
Emperor,  assuring  him  of  the  loyalty  of  the  country,  and  ex¬ 
plaining  the  position  which  he  assumed  in  order  to  put  an 
end  to  anarchy  in  Poland. 

The  day  before  the  Diet  opened,  a  deputation  headed  by 
Tchartoruiski  visited  the  Dictator  for  the  purpose  of  sound¬ 
ing  his  intentions.  They  spoke  to  him  in  favor  of  an  offen¬ 
sive  war  and  an  invasion  of  Lithuania,  but  Khlopitski  would 
not  yield,  and  declared  that  he  had  sworn  to  remain  faithful 
to  Russia.  When  one  of  the  deputies  answered  that  the  revo¬ 
lution  had  not  been  begun  with  the  simple  design  of  protect¬ 
ing  the  constitution,  and  preserving  the  boundaries  granted 
by  the  Vienna  Congress,  Khlopitski  left  the  room,  saying  that 
“  he  was  not  there  to  contend  with  provincial  deputies.”  So 
great  was  their  fear  lest  they  should  lose  the  confidence  of 
the  army,  that  they  agreed  among  themselves  not  to  make 
public  the  manner  in  which  the  Dictator  had  received  their 
advances,  and  even  Lelevel  kept  his  promise. 

The  very  first  act  of  the  Diet,  however,  raised  the  expecta¬ 
tions  of  the  revolutionary  party.  The  Chamber  of  Deputies 
elected  Count  Ladislas  Ostrovski  marshal,  and  proceeded 
to  sanction  the  revolution.  The  Senate  with  Tchartoruiski 
as  president  supported  this  action,  which  so  angered  Khlo¬ 
pitski  that  he  again  sent  in  his  resignation ;  and  only  on 
condition  that  the  Diet  should  adjourn  was  he  persuaded  by 


60 


HISTORY  OR  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  II, 


Tchartoruiski,  Ostrovski,  and  Niemtsevitch  to  retain  the  dic¬ 
tatorship.  The  Diet  consented  to  this  condition,  but  before 
the  adjournment  it  appointed  a  committee  to  draw  up  a 
manifesto  and  a  delegation  of  inspection  consisting  of  fifteen 
members  to  support  the  Dictator,  and  gifted  with  the  power 
to  remove  him  for  cause.  Khlopitski  immediately  prorogued 
the  assembly,  and  formed  a  ministry  and  a  council  of  five 
members,  —  Tchartoruiski,  Radzivil,  Barzikovski,  Dembovski, 
and  Ostrovski.  He  put  Lelevel  and  Niemo'ievski  into  the 
ministry  in  order  to  weaken  their  influence.  Khlopitski 
seemed  to  have  played  his  game  well.  He  had  concentrated 
in  his  own  hands  all  the  power,  and  the  conflicting  interests 
were  balanced  in  the  council. 

Nevertheless,  Khlopitski’s  popularity  was  beginning  to 
wane.  The  bitter  attacks  upon  him  in  the  press  began  to 
have  their  effect  upon  the  people,  and  the  party  divisions 
became  more  and  more  clearly  marked.  Gervinus  says  of 
this  period :  “  The  patriarchal  good  nature  of  the  Poles 
spread  over  these  circumstances  a  veil  of  illusion  which 
allowed  no  real  quarrel  to  arise  between  the  extremes  of 
indifference  and  exaltation  which  divided  society  through 
and  through.  Par  from  feeling  the  bitter  earnestness  which 
in  similar  times  lay  hold  upon  the  merriest-hearted  of  the 
merry-hearted  Prench,  the  Poles  assembled  in  coffee-house 
and  drawing-room  as  for  a  joyous  holiday.  They  discussed, 
drank,  danced,  and  after  the  dance  took  up  the  thread  of  the 
discussion  where  they  had  dropped  it.  Then  the  ladies  in 
their  enthusiasm  stopped  quarrels  and  hatred,  or  a  favorite 
proverb  or  the  magic  word  ‘  Patherland  ’  would  do  service  of 
reconciliation,  and  punch  and  the  mazurka  end  the  day.” 

But  the  impatience  at  the  delay  began  to  growT  more  seri¬ 
ous  ;  the  minority  worked  assiduously  to  spread  their  ideas 
among  the  people  by  violent  articles  in  the  papers,  by  bribery, 
by  any  means,  fair  or  foul,  which  occurred  to  them.  The 
leader  of  this  party  was  Lelevel.  "He  was  forty  years  of  age,” 


1825  -  1855.]  NICHOLAS  I.:  PERSIA  AND  POLAND. 


61 


says  Gervinus,  “  pale,  thin,  with  sunken  eyes,  unaccustomed 
to  deal  with  men,  an  extremist  by  reason  of  his  theories, 
and  still  more  so  by  reason  of  his  ambition,  which  in  men 
of  this  stamp  grows  the  more  lofty  the  less  they  are  capable 
of  mingling  in  affairs.  The  Russians  saw  in  him  a  Robes¬ 
pierre,  and  in  the  fiery  Mokhnatski  his  Saint  Just.” 

Lelevel  was  particularly  uncongenial  to  the  Dictator;  in 
every  respect  he  was  his  opposite.  He  was  of  the  opinion 
that  the  Poles  ought  to  take  the  offensive,  throw  themselves 
into  Lithuania  and  Volhynia,  arm  the  peasants  and  raise  a 
general  levy.  He  declared  that  if  the  insurrection  did  not 
spread,  it  was  certain  to  fail.  He  used  his  position  in  the 
ministry  to  undermine  Khlopitski ;  he  did  not  hesitate  to  plot 
against  his  life.  The  revolutionary  ideas  now  began  to  per¬ 
meate  the  militia,  which  was  Khlopitski’s  chief  support.  The 
Dictator  learned  at  the  same  time  of  the  plot  against  his  life, 
and  he  had  Lelevel,  Bronikovski,  and  Ostrovski  arrested. 
This  step  created  such  a  feeling,  however,  that  he  was  obliged 
to  liberate  the  prisoners.  The  popular  feeling  against  the 
Dictator  arose  still  higher  when  it  was  found  that  the  Vice- 
President  Liubovitski,  whom  the  people  were  waiting  to  hang, 
had  escaped  and  taken  refuge  in  Prussia. 

The  news  of  the  Emperor’s  proclamation  of  December 
seventeen  was  the  final  blow  which  led  to  Khlopitski’s  fall. 
Nicholas  repelled  all  efforts  to  treat  which  were  not  preceded 
by  an  immediate  and  unconditional  submission.  He  charac¬ 
terized  the  rebellion  as  infamous.  He  gave  orders  to  put  an 
end  to  all  illegal  armaments,  and  to  restore  the  administrative 
council.  The  insurgents  saw  that  there  was  no  hope  of  their 
“  obtaining  concessions  as  the  reward  of  their  crimes.” 

From  this  time  the  war  party  at  Warsaw  triumphed  over  the 
peace-party.  The  committee  from  the  Diet  had  the  mani¬ 
festo  printed  and  distributed  without  Khlopitski’s  knowl¬ 
edge.  The  wrongs  of  Poland  were  thus  publicly  brought 
before  the  notice  of  Europe.  The  language  used  was  not 


62 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  II. 


extravagant,  but  the  disgraceful  things  which  had  been  done 
were  handled  in  plain  speech  which  could  not  fail  to  be  dis¬ 
tasteful  to  the  Emperor ;  it  showed  that  the  union  of  the  con¬ 
stitutional  kingdom  with  an  autocratic  form  of  government 
was  impossible  ;  it  complained  that  the  provinces  were  still 
unannexed ;  it  was  a  direct  challenge  to  the  Emperor  offered 
in  the  face  of  all  Europe. 

Count  Iezierski  now  returned  from  Saint  Petersburg  and 
announced  that  the  Emperor  wTas  inclined  to  be  reconciled, 
only  he  would  hear  nothing  of  any  concessions.  Vielezinski, 
another  of  Khlopitski’s  messengers  to  the  Emperor,  also  re¬ 
turned  bringing  letters  from  Grabovski,  the  Polish  Secretary 
of  State,  advising  him  to  give  up  entirely  the  cause  of  the 
revolutionists.  Vielezinski  reported  General  Dibitch  as  say¬ 
ing  to  the  envoys  :  “  Well,  Gentlemen  of  Poland,  your  revo¬ 
lution  has  not  even  the  merit  of  being  well  timed.  You  have 
risen  at  the  moment  when  the  whole  force  of  the  empire  was 
on  the  march  toward  your  frontiers,  to  reduce  to  order  the 
revolutionary  spirits  of  France  and  Belgium.” 

Khlopitski  summoned  the  Diet  to  meet  on  the  nineteenth 
of  January,  and  he  then  declared  that,  as  he  saw  the  impos¬ 
sibility  of  carrying  on  a  war  with  Russia,  he  was  unwilling 
to  take  upon  himself  the  responsibility  of  a  rupture,  and 
would  not  retain  the  dictatorship  unless  unlimited  powers 
were  given  him  to  bring  about  an  understanding  with  the 
Emperor.  This  was  not  granted.  “  Well,  then,”  said  Khlo¬ 
pitski,  impatiently,  to  LeMvel,  “  make  war  wTith  your  reapers, 
yourself,” —  and  he  for  the  third  time  resigned  his  command. 
From  this  moment  his  popularity  vanished ;  the  army  de¬ 
clared  for  the  national  party ;  the  government  was  entrusted 
to  the  Senate  under  the  presidency  of  Prince  Tchartoruiski, 
and  the  command  of  the  army  wfte  given  to  Prince  Mikhail 
Radzivil,  an  inefficient  man  without  military  talent,  but  con¬ 
nected  by  family  with  the  King  of  Prussia.  His  election  was 
hailed  by  cries  of  “  To  Lithuania !  to  Lithuania  !  ”  Khlopit- 


1825  -  1855.]  NICHOLAS!.:  PERSIA  AND  POLAND. 


63 


ski  took  a  subordinate  place  in  the  suite  of  the  generalissimo, 
and  became  a  member  of  the  council  for  the  administration 
of  military  affairs. 

The  Diet  now  began  its  sittings.  On  the  very  first  day 
Ostrovski  proposed  to  declare  the  independence  of  Poland. 
On  the  twentieth  of  January  Roman  Soltuik  brought  in  a 
motion  to  depose  the  Romanof  family,  to  free  the  provinces 
from  their  oath  of  allegiance,  and  to  proclaim  their  separation 
from  Russia.  Tchartoruiski  and  his  aristocratic  following 
strained  every  nerve  to  induce  Soltuik  to  withdraw  his  mo¬ 
tion,  but  the  patriots  of  the  club,  who  were  no  longer  em¬ 
barrassed  by  Khlopitski,  kept  up  an  increasing  activity  in 
circulating  extreme  ideas  :  promises  of  material  aid  from 
Prance,  and  moral  sympathy  from  the  rest  of  the  world, 
fanned  their  enthusiasm  to  the  highest  glow.  It  was  known 
that  General  Lamarque  had  proposed,  for  the  protection  of 
the  Polish  insurrectionists,  that  a  Franco-English  fleet  should 
threaten  Constantinople ;  that  Sweden  should  interfere  in 
favor  of  Finland ;  that  Austria  and  Prussia  should  be  held 
in  check  by  advances  in  Italy  and  on  the  Rhine.  All 
these  rumors  excited  the  Poles  to  a  fever  of  enthusiasm ; 
they  forgot  the  old  proverb  that  God  is  too  high,  and  France 
too  far,  to  help  them.  They  scorned  the  warning  of  the 
French  Consul  in  Warsaw,  who  told  them  not  to  depend 
upon  French  interference.  They  told  the  Due  de  Monte- 
mart,  who  was  sent  by  Louis  Philippe  to  the  Court  of  Saint 
Petersburg,  that  their  reliance  was  firm  in  Lafayette,  that  the 
die  was  cast,  and  they  should  gain  all  or  nothing ;  and  his  un¬ 
favorable  reply  had  no  power  to  influence  them.  Khlopitski’s 
letter  to  the  Emperor  and  the  answer  were  brought  before  the 
Diet,  and  the  popular  feeling  was  still  further  imbittered  by 
the  proclamations  issued  by  Dibitch  Zabalkanski,  in  which  he 
threatened  the  rebels  with  the  utmost  rigor,  and  told  them  that 
they  had  to  choose  between  the  benefits  coming  from  unquali¬ 
fied  submission  and  the  evils  arising  from  a  hopeless  conflict. 


64 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  IL 


In  the  session  of  the  twenty-fifth  of  January,  Count  Iezier- 
ski  was  requested  publicly  to  give  an  account  of  the  negotia¬ 
tions  with  Nicholas.  The  Emperor’s  replies  did  not  give  any 
more  ground  for  hope  than  his  proclamation  of  the  seventeenth 
of  December.  He  refused  to  parley  with  rebel  subjects.  He 
at  once  rejected  the  idea  of  despoiling  Russia  of  the  Lithua¬ 
nian  provinces  for  the  benefit  of  Poland.  He  considered  it  a 
sacred  duty  to  stifle  the  insurrection  and  punish  the  guilty, 
adding  that  if  the  nation  took  up  arms  against  him,  Poland 
would  be  crushed  by  Polish  guns.  At  the  mention  of  Polish 
guns,  Ledokhovski  shouted  “  Down  with  Nicholas  !  ”  and  the 
deputies  overwhelmed  Iezierski  with  reproaches  at  his  weak¬ 
ness,  while  he  retorted  that  it  was  one  thing  to  speak  in  War¬ 
saw  of  the  Emperor,  and  another  to  speak  before  the  Emperor 
in  Saint  Petersburg.  The  indignation  against  Liubetski  and 
the  conservative  leaders  grew  rapidly,  and  Ostrovski,  profiting 
by  the  tumult,  again  motioned  to  depose  the  Romanofs  from 
the  throne,  and  the  motion  was  carried  by  acclamation. 

The  revolutionists  hoped  by  this  step  to  engage  the  sym¬ 
pathy  of  the  Western  courts,  but  in  reality  it  rendered  all  at¬ 
tempts  at  pacific  mediation  impossible,  —  the  Poles  having 
abandoned  the  ground  of  the  treaties  of  eighteen  hundred  and 
fifteen,  the  only  ones  to  which  European  diplomacy  could 
appeal.  As  to  an  armed  intervention  in  the  presence  of  the 
hostility  of  the  German  Powers,  neither  England  nor  France 
could  dream  of  such  a  thing.  In  vain  the  population  of  Paris 
made  energetic  manifestations  of  its  sympathies  ;  in  vain  the 
chambers  resounded  with  warlike  addresses,  —  all  these  de¬ 
monstrations  had  no  effect.  On  the  twenty-ninth  of  January 
the  Diet  instituted  a  provisional  government  composed  of 
five  members,  —  Adam  Tchartoruiski  (president),  Barzikovski, 
Niemo'ievski,  Moravski,  and  Lelevel.  All  parties  were  thus 
represented,  from  the  extreme  democratic  tendencies  of  Lelevel 
to  the  natural  aristocratic  feelings  of  Tchartoruiski,  who  was 
by  family  interests  and  precedent  bound  to  the  imperial  re- 


1825-  1855.]  NICHOLAS  L:  PERSIA  AND  POLAND. 


65 


gime,  but  who  now  accepted  the  situation  and  yielded  to  the 
will  of  the  people.  A  proclamation  announced  to  the  world 
that  Poland  was  henceforth  an  independent  constitutional 
monarchy. 

Although  the  Grand  Duke  had  long  ago  evacuated  the 
kingdom,  comparatively  little  had  been  done  toward  putting 
the  strongholds  in  a  posture  of  defence.  The  fortresses  were 
all  in  the  hands  of  the  rebels,  but  no  works  of  importance 
had  been  erected  except  at  Praga,  Zamosts,  and  Modlin. 
The  country  was  left  open  to  the  approach  of  the  enemy,  but 
they  threw  up  a  formidable  work  to  cover  the  bridge  on  the 
east  of  Warsaw.  The  Polish  forces  with  the  new  levies 
amounted  to  somewhere  between  seventy  and  ninety  thou¬ 
sand  men,  with  more  than  a  hundred  pieces  of  artillery. 

Early  in  February,  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty -one,  in  a 
season  of  severe  cold,  an  army  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
thousand  Russians  with  four  hundred  cannon,  under  the 
command  of  Count  Dibitch  Zabalkanski,  the  hero  of  the 
Balkans,  entered  Poland  at  four  distinct  points.  According 
as  the  different  army  corps  converged  upon  Warsaw,  the  Poles, 
prudently  avoiding  a  general  engagement,  fell  back  toward 
the  capital.  The  insurgent  General  Dvernitski  gained  an  ad¬ 
vantage  at  the  skirmish  at  Stotchek,  and  several  other  minor 
victories  encouraged  the  Poles.  On  the  nineteenth  and  twen¬ 
tieth  of  February  a  bloody  battle  was  fought  at  Grokhof,  and 
though  the  Polish  troops  won  imperishable  glory  for  their 
bravery,  they  did  not  hinder  the  Russians  from  approaching 
Warsaw.  The  Russian  general,  having  received  reinforce¬ 
ments,  carried  the  village  of  Bialenska  on  February  twenty- 
four,  and  the  following  day  he  attacked  and  took  a  grove  in 
front  of  Praga.  The  battle  lasted  two  hours,  and  the  Poles 
finally  retired  in  good  order  to  the  fortifications  of  Praga. 
Prince  Radzivil,  acknowledging  that  he  was  incapable  of 
retaining  his  office  of  generalissimo,  now  resigned  and  -was 
succeeded  by  General  Ian  Skrzynetski,  who  by  his  bravery 

VOL.  HI.  5 


66 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  II. 


and  ability  bad  risen  rapidly  into  note.  The  main  body  of 
the  Russian  army,  abandoning  the  bank  of  the  Vistula  and 
retiring  to  Plotsk,  was  waiting  for  reinforcements  ;  only  three 
strong  divisions  —  that  of  Rosen  at  Dembevilkie,  that  of  Geis- 
mar  at  Vavr,  and  a  third  opposite  Praga  —  were  left  to  watch 
Warsaw.  The  Polish  general  used  the  respite  which  the 
inactivity  of  Marshal  Dibitch  gave  him  to  strengthen  his 
army  and  fortify  the  capital.  Pie  also  took  the  offensive. 
On  the  night  of  March  thirty,  with  a  force  of  twenty-five 
thousand  men,  he  surprised  Geismar  at  Vavr  and  Rosen  at 
Dembevilkie.  General  Rosen  abandoned  Minsk,  and  was 
again  defeated  at  Igani.  Some  of  the  Polish  troops  even 
crossed  the  Bug  and  approached  the  vicinity  of  Dibitch. 

Up  to  this  time  fifteen  battles  had  been  fought,  and  the 
advantage  seemed  to  be  with  the  insurgents ;  but  fortune  be¬ 
gan  to  change.  After  the  victories  of  March  and  April,  Gen¬ 
eral  Sieravski  advanced  southward  to  join  Dvernitski,  who 
was  trying  to  raise  Volhynia.  At  first  their  operations  were 
successful ;  they  swept  the  right  bank  of  the  Vistula,  but  un¬ 
fortunately  they  kept  too  far  apart,  and  on  the  seventeenth  of 
April  Sieravski  was  defeated  by  General  Kreutz,  and  General 
Dvernitski  was  completely  surrounded  by  the  Russian  forces 
of  Rudiger.  In  order  to  escape  a  fatal  battle,  he  took  refuge 
on  Austrian  soil,  when  his  troops  were  disarmed  by  the  au¬ 
thorities.  General  Khrzanovski  was  sent  into  Volhynia  to 
take  his  place,  but  the  expedition  failed  completely. 

The  troops  which  were  sent  to  the  assistance  of  the  Lithua¬ 
nian  insurrection  met  with  disaster  in  the  vicinity  of  Vilna  ; 
the  Poles  were  obliged  to  cross  the  Prussian  frontier,  when 
they  were  disarmed,  and  only  one  division,  through  the  skill 
and  bravery  of  General  Dembinski,  succeeded  in  re-entering 
Warsaw.  In  the  meantime  Skrzynetski  attacked  the  right 
wing  of  the  Russians  at  Ostrolenka  on  the  Narova,  and  after 
a  severe  fight  was  forced  back  to  the  other  side  of  the  river. 
He  retreated  to  Praga,  and  for  the  greater  part  of  June  de¬ 
voted  himself  to  repairing  his  losses. 


1825-1855.]  NICHOLAS  L:  PERSIA  AND  POLAND. 


67 


The  cholera  was  now  raging  in  both  armies.  This  disease 
appeared  in  Moscow  in  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty,  and  the 
following  year  it  spread  throughout  the  empire  and  a  large 
portion  of  Europe.  It  was  communicated  to  the  Polish  troops 
by  the  Russians  immediately  after  the  battle  of  Igani.  Mar¬ 
shal  Dibitch  fell  a  victim  to  it  on  the  tenth  of  June,  and 
seventeen  days  afterwards  the  Grand  Duke  Konstantin  died 
of  it  at  Vitepsk. 

Paskievitch-Erivanski  was  appointed  Dibitch’s  successor, 
and  immediately  began  his  operations  against  Warsaw. 
Warsaw  was  prepared  for  a  siege;  the  inhabitants  worked 
night  and  day  digging  intrenchments  and  raising  barricades. 
But  political  divisions  now,  as  always,  ruined  Poland.  Ac¬ 
cording  as  the  crisis  approached,  harmony  and  confidence 
became  shaken.  The  disasters  which  succeeded  the  battle 
of  Ostrolenka,  the  abandonment  of  Poland  by  the  Western 
powers,  the  failure  of  the  insurrections  in  the  neighboring 
provinces,  and  the  defeats  in  Volhynia  and  Lithuania  had 
aroused  the  suspicions  of  the  people.  It  was  whispered 
about  that  it  was  due  to  treason ;  the  capacity  of  the  gen¬ 
erals  was  doubted.  Discontent  began  to  enfeeble  enthu¬ 
siasm.  A  plot  to  surrender  the  city,  instigated  by  certain 
Polish  generals  in  conjunction  with  some  of  the  Russian 
prisoners  of  war,  was  discovered,  and  it  was  proposed  and 
almost  decided  in  the  chamber  of  deputies  to  substitute  a 
new  dictatorship  for  the  provisional  government.  General 
Skrzynetski  refused  to  communicate  to  a  commission  of  in¬ 
quiry  the  plans  of  his  future  operations,  and  after  some  violent 
scenes  he  resigned  his  position  and  was  replaced  by  Dembin- 
ski,  whose  bold  retreat  from  Lithuania  had  won  for  him  golden 
opinions.  But  Dembinski  was  soon  removed  to  give  place  to 
Malakhovski.  The  more  violent  members  of  the  clubs  pro¬ 
posed  to  court-martial  Skrzynetski,  and  the  government  weakly 
consented ;  but  this  did  not  appease  their  passions.  A  revolt 
broke  out  on  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  of  August.  The 


68 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  II. 


royal  castle  was  sacked,  and  many  state  prisoners  were  mas¬ 
sacred.  The  streets  of  Warsaw  ran  with  blood.  The  prisons 
were  broken  into,  and  innocent  and  guilty  perished  indiscrimi¬ 
nately.  The  governor  of  the  city  was  entirely  unable  to  restore 
order.  The  moderate  party  took  flight ;  Tchartoruiski  fled  in 
disguise.  The  provisional  government  resigned  its  power  into 
the  hands  of  the  Diet,  who  invested  General  Krukovietski  with 
the  office  of  dictator.  He  had  some  of  the  mutineers  executed, 
but  was  not  able  to  re-establish  order.  Meantime  Paskievitch- 
Erivanski,  taking  advantage  of  the  anarchy  which  reigned  at 
Warsaw,  and  strengthened  by  the  benevolent  help  of  Prussia, 
which  had  thrown  open  to  him  its  arsenals  and  magazines  of 
Dantzig  and  Konigsberg,  crossed  the  Vistula  at  Plotsk  with¬ 
out  opposition,  and  transported  the  theatre  of  war  to  the  left 
bank.  He  intended  to  attack  the  capital,  not  from  the  side 
of  Praga,  as  Suvorof  had  done,  but  from  the  side  of  Vola  and 
the  Tchyste  quarter.  He  had  an  army  of  about  a  hundred 
thousand  men  which  invested  the  city.  Two  semicircles  of 
concentric  intrenchments  corresponded  to  these  two  quarters, 
but  the  Russians  had  no  longer,  as  on  the  Praga  side,  to  over¬ 
come  the  obstacle  of  the  deep  and  rapid  Vistula. 

On  the  sixth  of  September  the  Russians  began  the  attack 
upon  Vola.  Both  sides  fought  with  equal  bravery.  General 
Sovinski,  who  had  lost  a  leg  at  the  Moskova,  and  Vysotski, 
who  began  the  revolution,  were  killed.  But  at  night  the  Rus¬ 
sians  remained  masters  of  Vola,  The  same  night  Paskievitch 
cannonaded  the  town.  The  capital  was  at  his  mercy.  The 
next  morning  Krukovietski  asked  permission  to  capitulate. 
Paskievitch  exacted  the  unconditional  submission  of  the  army 
and  the  people,  the  immediate  surrender  of  Warsaw,  the  re¬ 
construction  of  the  bridge  of  Praga,  and  the  retreat  of  the 
troops  on  Plotsk.  The  Diet  having  allowed  the  time  fixed 
for  a  reply  to  pass,  Paskievitch  began  the  attack.  Krukoviet¬ 
ski  had  accepted  his  terms,  but  he  had  been  replaced  in  the 
interval  by  Niemoievski.  The  brave  Erench  General  Ramo- 


GENERAL  VIEW  OF  WARSAW  FROM  PRAGA 


1825  -1855.]  NICHOLAS  I.:  PERSIA  AND  POLAND. 


69 


rino  had  been  sent,  with  twenty  thousand  men,  into  Podlakhia 
after  provisions.  His  return  was  momentarily  expected,  and 
the  Poles  delayed  as  long  as  possible  sending  their  answer  to 
Paskievitch.  The  Russians  carried  Tchystc,  which  was  now 
in  flames,  and  were  scaling  the  ramparts,  when  the  Poles 
capitulated. 

“  Sire,  Warsaw  is  at  your  feet,”  wrote  Paskievitch  to  the 
Emperor.  “  The  submission  is  general  and  complete.” 

“  Order  reigns  at  Warsaw,”  —  such  was  the  funeral  oration 
pronounced  by  official  Europe  over  the  insurrection.  The 
Polish  army  retired  to  Plotsk,  and  twenty  thousand  laid  down 
their  arms.  A  few  brave  generals,  among  whom  was  Ramo- 
rino,  made  one  more  attempt  to  arouse  the  people,  but  they 
were  soon  surrounded ;  and  some  of  them,  preferring  exile  to 
submission,  took  refuge  in  Prussia  and  Austria.  Paskievitch 
was  created  a  prince,  Varshavski,  and  made  governor-general 
of  Poland. 

At  the  end  of  a  month,  not  only  Warsaw  but  Poland  itself 
lay  at  the  feet  of  Nicholas.  He  felt  that  he  was  bound  to 
make  a  severe  example  in  order  to  intimidate  the  European 
revolution.  On  the  thirteenth  of  November  he  published 
a  decree  of  amnesty  in  which  he  deplored  the  necessity  “  of 
employing  other  means  than  persuasion,  in  order  to  bring 
his  misguided  subjects  back  to  their  duty,”  and  distinguished 
between  those  who  were  responsible  for  the  insurrection  and 
those  who  were  weak  enough  to  be  led  into  it.  A  “  complete 
amnesty  ”  was  then  granted  to  all  of  his  subjects  belonging  to 
the  kingdom  of  Poland,  except  “  the  authors  of  the  bloody 
revolt,”  and  the  men  who  attacked  the  life  of  the  Grand  Duke 
Konstantin  and  the  other  Russian  and  Polish  officers  ;  the 
chief  members  of  the  illegal  governments  ;  the  deputies  to  the 
Diet  who  proposed  and  accepted  the  act  of  deposition  of  Jan¬ 
uary  the  twenty-fifth  ;  the  officers  of  the  forces  commanded 
by  Ramorino,  Rozitski,  Kaminski,  and  Ribinski.  Sequestra¬ 
tions,  confiscations,  imprisonments,  and  banishments  to  Siberia 


70 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  II 


served  as  commentaries  on  the  amnesty.  Five  thousand  Pol¬ 
ish  families  were  transported  to  the  Caucasus ;  the  total  of 
the  confiscated  property  was  estimated  at  three  hundred  and 
thirty-seven  million  francs.  The  constitution  granted  by 
Alexander  was  annulled ;  the  public  offices  were  abolished 
and  replaced  by  mere  commissions  emanating  from  the  pub¬ 
lic  offices  of  Russia;  the  directors  of  these  commissions 
formed,  under  the  management  of  the  namiestnik,  the  coun¬ 
cil  of  government.  There  were  to  be  no  more  diets ;  Poland 
was  administered  by  the  officials  of  the  Tsar.  The  Polish 
army  no  longer  existed;  it  was  lost  in  the  imperial  army. 
The  national  orders  were  preserved  only  as  Russian  orders, 
distributed  among  the  most  zealous  servants  of  the  govern¬ 
ment.  The  Russian  systems  of  taxes,  justice,  and  coinage 
were  successively  introduced  into  the  kingdom.  The  metric 
system  of  weights  and  measures  was  changed  to  the  Russian ; 
the  Julian  calendar  supplanted  the  calendar  in  use  all  over  the 
world.  The  Polish  language  was  prohibited  to  be  taught  in 
schools ;  the  University  of  Warsaw  was  suppressed,  and  its 
library  taken  to  Saint  Petersburg.  The  ancient  historical  pa¬ 
latinates  gave  way  to  Russian  provinces;  the  ancient  divis¬ 
ions  were  modified.  These  governments  amounted  to  five 
after  eighteen  hundred  and  forty-four :  Warsaw,  Radom, 
Lublin,  Plotsk,  and  Modlin.  Thus  were  matters  ordered  in 
Poland  proper. 

In  Lithuania  and  White  Russia  the  Polish  element  was 
more  narrowly  watched.  The  germs  of  nationality  left  by 
Tchartoruiski’s  educational  policy  were  stifled.  As  a  punish¬ 
ment  for  the  Lithuanian  insurrection,  the  University  of  Vilna 
was  suppressed,  and  the  Russian  language  drove  the  Polish 
from  the  schools.  In  order  to  attach  the  southwest  provinces 
more  closely  to  Russia,  Nicholas,  assisted  by  Bishop  Joseph 
Siemashko,  abolished  the  Uniate  Church,  which  since  fifteen 
hundred  and  ninety-six  had  been  the  strongest  factor  of  na¬ 
tionality.  Severe  laws  were  passed  in  regard  to  mass,  to 


1825-1855.]  NICHOLAS  L:  PERSIA  AND  POLAND. 


71 


Roman  Catholic  instruction,  and  to  baptism.  Indemnity  and 
pardon  was  offered  to  Roman  Catholic  criminals  on  condition 
of  recantation.  In  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-nine  the  Uni- 
ate  bishops  and  clergy,  overcome  by  a  long  series  of  legisla¬ 
tive  oppressions  and  bribes,  signed  the  act  of  Polotsk,  by 
which  they  entreated  to  be  admitted  into  the  bosom  of  the 
national  orthodox  church,  and  asked  pardon  both  of  the  Em¬ 
peror  and  of  God  for  their  sins  of  obstinacy  and  blindness. 
The  Holy  Synod  hastened  to  gratify  their  request,  and  an¬ 
nounced  that  this  happy  union  was  brought  about  by  mild¬ 
ness  and  persuasion.  Some  of  the  monks  and  the  faithful 
resisted.  Siemashko,  now  made  metropolitan  as  the  reward 
for  his  services,  was  particularly  eager  in  his  professions  of 
orthodoxy,  and  organized  missions  in  which  an  amount  of 
violence  and  zeal  was  used  to  destroy  the  old  schism,  equal  to 
that  which  the  Jesuit  party  of  the  seventeenth  century  had 
employed  to  cement  it.  Siemashko’s  attempt  to  convert  the 
Basilian  nuns  of  Minsk  made  a  special  scandal.  When  the 
arts  of  persuasion  had  been  exhausted,  and  they  refused  to 
leave  the  communion  of  Rome,  they  were  once  more  offered 
their  choice  between  the  orthodox  religion  and  hard  labor  in 
Siberia.  They  rejected  the  offer  of  recantation,  and  were 
marched  in  irons  seven  days’  journey  to  Yitepsk,  where  they 
were  obliged  to  perform  the  most  degrading  tasks  under  the 
lash.  Several  were  killed  by  violent  treatment.  Their  ob¬ 
stinacy  under  persecution  became  more  confirmed,  and  finally 
such  tortures  were  employed  as  recalled  the  worst  days  of  the 
Spanish  Inquisition. 

The  orthodox  peasants  profited,  however,  by  this  revolution. 
In  order  to  protect  them  against  the  ill-will  of  their  masters 
who  remained  Catholics  or  Uniates,  the  authorities  of  White 
Russia  and  Lithuania  were  required  to  make  “  inventories  ” 
which  would  exactly  determine  the  amount  of  their  rents  and 
the  sum  of  their  dues.  The  inventories  put  an  end  to  the 
despotism  of  the  nobles.  \  |  j 


CHAPTER  III. 


NICHOLAS  THE  FIRST:  FOREIGN  RELATIONS. 

1825  -  1855. 

Hostility  against  Prance:  the  Eastern  Question. — Revolution  op 
Eighteen  Hundred  and  Eorty-eight. — Intervention  in  Hungary. 


HOSTILITY  AGAINST  FRANCE:  THE  EASTERN 

QUESTION. 

THE  Polish  insurrection  had  resulted,  as  to  general  Euro¬ 
pean  policy,  in  a  more  intimate  union  between  the 
three  powers  of  the  North,  which  bound  themselves  by  a 
treaty  to  deliver  up  each  other’s  rebel  subjects,  and  in  a  kind 
of  rupture  between  Russia  and  those  Western  powers  which 
had  given  especial  evidences  of  their  sympathy  for  the  Polish 
cause.  Nicholas  the  Eirst,  the  chief  representative  of  conser¬ 
vatism  in  Europe,  looked  upon  France  as  the  hot-bed  of  per¬ 
petually  recurring  revolutions.  He  wished  the  world  to  remain 
immovable ;  but  Paris  periodically  overturned  the  established 
order  of  things,  and  shook  the  thrones  of  Europe  with  its 
“  days.”  The  insurrection  of  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty 
overthrew  his  ally,  Charles  the  Tenth,  caused  Belgium  and 
Central  Italy  to  break  the  bonds  of  their  allegiance,  and  the 
direct  consequence  of  it  was  the  long  and  bloody  struggle  with 
the  revolutionists  of  Poland.  The  sympathies  of  the  French 
for  Poland  were  strongly  manifested.  Riots  took  place  in  the 
streets  of  Paris,  and  windows  were  broken  at  the  Russian  Em¬ 
bassy  ;  addresses  were  presented  in  the  Chambers  at  each  new 
session,  and  the  more  extravagant  sympathizers  promised  the 


1825  -  1855.]  NICHOLAS  L:  FOREIGN  RELATIONS. 


73 


co-operation  of  the  French  army.  When  the  revolution  was 
crushed,  the  proscribed  Poles  nowhere  received  a  warmer  wel¬ 
come  than  in  Paris,  and  Polish  schools  were  provided  for  their 
children.  Under  the  protection  of  France,  the  revolution 
which  was  sweeping  over  Europe  made  use  of  the  Polish  emi¬ 
grants  as  fast  allies  in  the  cause  of  freedom.  In  Hungary,  in 
Turkey,  in  the  Caucasus,  everywhere  Nicholas  was  to  find  these 
exiles,  these  guests  of  France,  arrayed  against  him. 

But  Nicholas  did  not  wait  for  these  acts  of  hostility,  to  de¬ 
clare  himself  against  the  French.  His  relations  with  Louis 
Philippe,  the  July  king,  were  a  long  series  of  frets,  of  annoy¬ 
ances,  of  scarcely  disguised  insults.  In  his  reply  to  the  notifi¬ 
cation  of  the  accession  of  the  new  sovereign,  he  had  designated 
the  revolution  which  had  given  Louis  Philippe  his  crown  as 
an  “  event  forever  to  be  deplored/5  He  affected  a  polite  im¬ 
pertinence  towards  the  representatives  of  France,  or  gave  them 
to  understand  that  the  respect  he  paid  them  was  a  tribute 
merely  to  their  personal  merit,  and  not  to  their  diplomatic 
quality.  MM.  de  Bourgoing,  de  Barante,  Marshal  Maison, 
and  Casimir  Perier  the  younger,  were  placed  one  after  the 
other  in  this  false  position. 

The  ill-will  of  Nicholas  was  shown  by  acts  of  a  graver  kind, 
— by  threatening  manifestations  and  displays  of  military  force, 
by  meetings  of  sovereigns  which  seemed  ominous  of  the  recon¬ 
stitution  of  the  Floly  Alliance,  by  attempts  at  coalition,  and 
even  by  flagrant  violations  of  treaties.  Nicholas  was  one  day 
to  expiate  cruelly  the  dangerous  satisfaction  to  his  pride  which 
he  derived  from  these  vain  provocations  to  France  and  the 
new  ideas.  This  situation  of  king  of  kings,  of  head  of  the 
monarchical  governments,  of  arbiter  of  Europe,  which  he  was 
allowed  to  hold  by  the  complaisance  of  Austria  and  Prussia, 
was  more  apparent  than  real,  and  had  more  prestige  than 
force.  Once  more  the  so-called  policy  of  principles  was  to 
bring  misfortune  to  Russia. 

In  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-two  Mehemet  Ali,  the  Khe- 


74 


EISTOllY  or  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  III. 


dive  of  Egypt,  quarreled  with  Abdullah  Pasha,  the  Governor 
of  Saint-Jean-d’Acre,  about  some  real  or  imaginary  grievance. 
Mehemet’s  adopted  son,  Ibrahim,  at  the  head  of  a  powerful 
army,  entered  Syria,  without  consulting  the  Turkish  Sultan. 
Mahmud  commanded  peace  between  the  belligerents,  and  or¬ 
dered  Ibrahim  to  return  to  Egypt.  Ibrahim  disobeyed,  and 
captured  the  Syrian  forts,  Gaza,  Jaffa,  and  Caiffa.  In  May  he 
reduced  Acre  to  a  heap  of  ruins,  and  finally  starved  it  into 
submission.  He  now  determined  to  conquer  all  Syria ;  and 
the  capture  of  Damascus,  together  with  a  great  victory  on  the 
banks  of  the  Orontes,  enabled  him  to  advance  as  far  as  Anti¬ 
och.  There  again  he  routed  the  Turkish  army,  and  opened 
the  road  to  Constantinople.  The  Sultan  made  one  more  effort, 
and  sent  out  a  force  of  sixty  thousand  men  under  Redshid 
Pasha,  who  was  entirely  defeated  at  Konieh  on  the  twenty-first 
of  December.  Turkey  then  appealed  to  the  European  powers, 
and  the  Russian  General  Muravief  was  sent  to  Alexandria  to 
co-operate  with  the  Austrian  consul  in  persuading  the  Khedive 
to  put  an  end  to  hostilities.  He  consented  ;  but,  nevertheless, 
Ibrahim  continued  to  threaten  Constantinople,  and  in  Febru¬ 
ary  the  Sultan  sent  to  Russia  for  assistance.  A  fleet  from 
Sevastopol  anchored  at  the  mouth  of  the  Bosphorus,  ten  thou¬ 
sand  men  disembarked  on  the  coast  of  Asia,  and  an  army 
of  twenty-four  thousand  men  was  caused  to  advance  to  the 
Pruth.  Prance  and  England  protested  through  Admiral  Ron- 
sin  and  Lord  Ponsonby,  and  obtained  the  withdrawal  of  the 
Russian  forces,  the  retreat  of  the  Egyptian  army,  and  the 
treaty  of  Kutaieh,  by  which  the  Sultan  guaranteed  the  Khedive 
the  possession  of  his  Syrian  conquests. 

All  seemed  to  have  ended  quietly,  when  a  rumor  spread 
that  Count  Orlof  had  concluded  with  the  Porte  the  treaty  of 
Unkiar-Skelessi.  This  treaty,  which  was  signed  on  the  eighth 
of  June,  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-three,  under  the  appear¬ 
ance  of  an  offensive  and  defensive  alliance,  established  the  de¬ 
pendence  of  Turkey  on  Russia.  Each  of  the  two  contracting 


1825-1855.]  NICHOLAS  I.:  FOREIGN  RELATIONS. 


75 


parties  engaged  to  furnish  the  other  the  aid  necessary  “to 
secure  the  tranquillity  of  its  states.”  This  latter  stipulation 
might,  in  such  a  distracted  country  as  Turkey,  involve  a  per¬ 
manent  occupation  by  the  Russian  forces. 

The  true  significance  of  the  treaty  was  contained  in  an  ad¬ 
ditional  secret  article  by  which  the  Sultan  undertook,  in  case 
Russia  were  attacked,  to  close  the  Dardanelles,  and  to  permit 
no  foreign  ships  of  war,  on  any  pretext  whatever,  to  pass 
through  them ;  while  on  the  other  hand  the  Tsar  agreed  to 
spare  his  ally  the  trouble  and  expense  of  giving  him  military 
aid.  England  and  Erance  protested  loudly,  but  subsequent 
events  prevented  the  execution  of  this  treaty. 

The  Khedive  of  Egypt  had  been  left  in  full  possession  of 
his  Syrian  conquests,  and  the  threats  of  the  Russian  Emperor 
did  not  prevent  his  renewing  his  hostilities  in  eighteen  hun¬ 
dred  and  thirty-nine.  Sultan  Mahmud  was  succeeded  by  his 
son,  Abdul-Medjid,  who  was  soon  reduced  to  such  straits  that 
finally  Erance  and  England  signed  a  note  placing  the  Ottoman 
Empire  under  the  common  protection  of  the  five  great  powers. 
Mehemet  Ali  demanded  only  recognition  as  independent  and 
hereditary  ruler  of  Egypt,  and  a  confirmation  of  his  right  to 
the  possession  of  Syria  and  Adana.  Nicholas  took  advantage 
of  the  lively  sympathy  shown  by  France  for  the  Viceroy  to 
put  it  in  a  state  of  complete  isolation  from  the  other  powers. 
England,  which  entirely  discountenanced  the  Viceroy’s  preten¬ 
sions,  and  was  always  anxious  to  maintain  the  integrity  of  the 
Ottoman  Empire,  separated  from  Erance,  and  was  glad  to  take 
part  in  the  conspiracy,  the  aim  of  which  was  to  exclude  the 
French  from  the  assembly  of  European  powers.  A  convention 
was  concluded  at  London,  on  July  fifteenth,  eighteen  hundred 
and  forty,  between  Great  Britain,  Russia,  Austria,  and  Prussia, 
whereby  this  ultimatum  was  offered  to  Mehemet  Ali :  He  was 
to  have  the  hereditary  sovereignty  of  Egypt  and  the  possession 
of  the  pashalic  of  Saint-Jean-d’Acre  for  life.  If  he  did  not  ac¬ 
cept  these  terms  within  ten  days,  the  Sultan  should  offer  him 


76 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chai\  III 


Egypt  only,  and  if  he  still  persisted  in  his  obstinacy,  the  four 
powers  threatened  to  use  force  in  order  to  compel  him  to  yield. 

This  treaty  was  made  known  in  France  two  days  after  it 
had  been  signed,  and  was  received  with  a  burst  of  indignation. 
The  excitement  reached  a  fever  height,  additional  levies  were 
made  for  the  army  and  navy,  inflammatory  pamphlets  were 
published,  calling  for  war  and  reiterating  every  quarrel  which 
France  and  England  had  known  for  centuries.  Measures 
were  taken  to  fortify  Paris  as  a  reply  to  the  concealed  men¬ 
aces  of  the  quadruple  alliance.  A  French  journal  declared : 
“  We  have  trusted  for  ten  years  in  the  alliance  of  England  ;  we 
trust  in  it  no  more.  We  stand  alone,  and  are  ready  to  main¬ 
tain  alone,  if  need  be,  the  balance  of  power  and  independence 
of  Europe.”  The  king,  however,  was  firm  in  his  desire  for 
peace,  and  soon  came  in  collision  with  Thiers  and  his  col¬ 
leagues  who  wished  to  announce  the  additional  levy  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  troops,  and  were  full  of  the  most 
warlike  spirit. 

Mehemet  Ali,  having  made  all  preparations  to  resist  com¬ 
pulsory  measures  with  force,  before  he  returned  an  answer  to 
the  ultimatum  tried  to  patch  up  a  peace  with  the  Sultan. 
But  his  proposals  were  not  deemed  satisfactory,  and  Abdul- 
Medjid  immediately  sent  a  firman  to  Alexandria  announcing 
the  formal  deposition  of  the  Khedive  from  the  head  of  Egyp¬ 
tian  affairs.  Although  this  extreme  step  was  not  approved  of 
by  the  four  powers,  they  resolved  to  declare  that  the  ports  of 
Egypt  and  Syria  were  in  a  state  of  blockade.  Admiral  Stop- 
ford  appeared  off  Beyroot  on  the  ninth  of  September,  and  after 
a  week’s  siege  compelled  the  governor  to  withdraw  his  troops. 
Commodore  Napier,  with  a  body  of  British,  Austrian,  and 
Turkish  infantry,  dispersed  Ibrahim  Pasha’s  army.  In  Octo¬ 
ber  the  almost  impregnable  fortress  of  Acre  was  bombarded 
and  reduced  to  subjection  by  Admiral  Stopford.  These  suc¬ 
cesses  of  the  allies  quickly  subdued  the  Khedive.  Ibrahim 
Pasha’s  army  had  dwindled  from  seventy-five  thousand  to 


1825-  1855.]  NICHOLAS  L:  FOREIGN  RELATIONS. 


77 


twenty  thousand  men.  Napier  then  made  a  convention  with 
Mehemet  Ali,  by  virtue  of  which  the  Viceroy  should  be  con¬ 
firmed  in  his  sovereignty  of  Egypt  as  soon  as  he  withdrew 
Ibrahim  from  Syria  and  restored  the  Turkish  fleet.  The  Porte 
considered  that  Napier  had  exceeded  his  instructions,  and  re¬ 
fused  to  acknowledge  Mehemet ;  but  the  authority  of  the  four 
powers  was  brought  to  bear,  and,  after  some  trifling  on  the 
part  of  the  Sultan,  the  hereditary  succession  to  the  throne  of 
Egypt  was  guaranteed  to  the  Khedive  without  any  annoying 
restrictions. 

England,  which  had  forsaken  Prance  to  defend  Turkey 
against  Egypt,  soon  felt  the  necessity  of  returning  to  its  first 
allegiance,  in  order  to  guarantee  Constantinople  against  the 
protectorate  of  Russia.  On  the  occasion  of  the  “  Convention 
of  the  Straits,”  signed  July  thirteen,  eighteen  hundred  and 
forty-one,  Prance  emerged  from  its  state  of  isolation,  and  re¬ 
gained  its  position  in  the  European  concert. 

Nicholas  had  played  the  singular  part  of  protector  of  the 
Ottoman  integrity.  He  had  allied  himself  with  England,  his 
natural  enemy  and  rival ;  but,  at  the  price  of  these  inconsist¬ 
encies,  he  had  given  himself  the  pleasure  of  humiliating  the 
government  of  Louis  Philippe ;  he  had  seen  with  intense  sat¬ 
isfaction  the  affront  offered  to  France  by  the  treaty  of  London, 
the  irritation  caused  at  Paris  by  the  intervention  of  the  allies 
in  Syria,  the  embarrassment  into  which  the  French  were 
thrown  by  the  warlike  policy  of  Thiers’s  cabinet,  and  the  im¬ 
minence  of  a  general  conflict,  where,  for  such  a  poor  stake, 
they  would  have  had  a  coalition  of  all  the  great  powers  arrayed 
against  them. 

During  all  this  period  he  redoubled  his  ill  offices  toward 
Prance.  In  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-three  he  convoked 
the  Congress  of  Miinchengratz,  where  the  sovereigns  of  Rus¬ 
sia,  Austria,  and  Prussia,  together  with  their  principal  minis¬ 
ters,  assembled.  In  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-five,  at  the 
manoeuvres  of  Kalish,  he  reviewed  an  army  of  ninety  thousand 


78 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  III. 


men  in  the  presence  of  the  King  of  Prussia,  the  Austrian 
archdukes,  and  a  multitude  of  princes.  The  same  year  he 
held  a  congress  at  Toplitz  with  the  two  German  sovereigns. 
On  the  death  of  Charles  the  Tenth  he  ordered  a  court 
mourning  of  twenty-four  days. 

At  the  third  partition  of  Poland,  in  seventeen  hundred  and 
ninety-five,  Krakof  was  submitted  to  Austria.  Fourteen  years 
later  it  was  united  to  the  Duchy  of  Warsaw ;  but  after  Na¬ 
poleon’s  fall  it  was  made  a  free,  independent,  and  neutral  city, 
under  the  mutual  protection  of  the  three  northern  powers. 
Both  Austria  and  Russia  had  made  use  of  this  territory  at  va¬ 
rious  times — in  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-one  and  again  in 
eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-six  —  as  a  fulcrum  where  they 
might  bring  pressure  to  bear  upon  their  rebellious  subjects. 
In  eighteen  hundred  and  forty-six  troubles  broke  out  in  Aus¬ 
trian  Galicia.  The  upper  classes  made  great  preparations  for  a 
rising  against  Austria.  The  insurrection  began  at  Pilsno,  near 
Tarnof.  A  provisional  government  was  established  at  Krakof, 
which  formulated  communistic  principles.  “  Let  us  endeavor,” 
said  its  manifesto,  “  to  establish  a  community  where  every  one 
will  enjoy  the  fruits  of  the  earth  according  to  his  merits  and 
capacity ;  let  all  privileges  cease ;  let  those  who  are  inferior 
by  birth,  education,  or  physical  strength  obtain  without  shame 
the  full  assistance  of  communism,  which  will  divide  among  all 
men  the  absolute  ownership  of  the  soil,  now  enjoyed  by  a 
small  minority ;  let  all  taxes  cease,  whether  they  be  paid  in 
money  or  labor ;  and  let  all  who  have  fought  for  their  country 
have  an  indemnity  in  land  taken  from  the  national  domain.” 
The  Austrian  troops  at  first  evacuated  Krakof,  and  Count 
Patelski  entered  at  the  head  of  a  small  body  of  peasants 
armed  with  scythes.  The  first  success  of  the  insurgents  in¬ 
spired  the  people  with  hopes  that  the  whole  of  Poland  might 
be  set  free. 

But  the  Galician  peasantry,  taking  advantage  of  their 
power,  turned  against  the  nobility,  whom  a  long  series  of 


1825-1855.]  NICHOLAS  L:  FOREIGN  RELATIONS. 


79 


oppressions  had  caused  them  cordially  to  hate ;  and  they  now 
began  to  wreak  their  vengeance  by  burning  and  pillaging  the 
property  of  the  nobles,  and  indulging  in  a  general  massacre, 
in  which  they  were  encouraged  by  the  Austrian  authorities. 
The  insurrection  having  thus  failed  by  internal  dissensions, 
the  Austrians  surrounded  Krakof,  and  threatened  immediate 
bombardment  unless  the  insurgents  surrendered  and  gave  hos¬ 
tages  to  guarantee  peaceable  admission  of  the  troops  into  the 
city.  The  dictator,  Yishievski,  at  first  resisted,  and  ordered 
barricades  to  be  erected  in  the  streets ;  but  the  chief  inhabi¬ 
tants  opposed  this  step,  and  sent  a  deputation  to  treat  with 
General  Collin.  While  the  negotiations  were  going  on  a  bat¬ 
talion  of  Russian  infantry  entered  the  city,  followed  by  a  Prus¬ 
sian  army,  and  the  insurrectionists  surrendered  at  discretion. 

Nicholas,  in  his  character  of  queller  of  insurrections,  was 
here  in  his  element.  His  troops  were  the  first  to  enter 
Krakof.  The  fall  of  this  free  city  roused  much  interest  in 
Prance  and  England.  Palmerston  said :  “  I  have  too  high 
an  opinion  of  the  sentiments  which  must  animate  the  three 
powers,  to  doubt  of  their  acting  toward  Krakof  in  any  other 
spirit  than  that  of  the  treaty  of  Vienna.  Those  governments 
are  too  intelligent  not  to  perceive  that  the  treaty  of  Vienna 
must  be  considered  in  its  integrity,  and  that  no  government  is 
permitted  to  make  a  choice  of  those  articles  which  it  may 
wish  to  preserve  or  violate.  I  must  add  that  if  there  are  any 
powers  who  have  signed  the  treaty  of  Vienna  who  are  spe¬ 
cially  interested  in  its  faithful  execution,  they  are  the  German 
powers ;  and  I  am  sure  that  it  cannot  have  escaped  the  perspi¬ 
cacity  of  those  powers  that,  if  the  treaty  of  Vienna  is  not  good 
on  the  Vistula,  it  must  be  equally  bad  on  the  Rhine  and  the 
Po.”  Guizot,  then  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  protested  also 
against  this  violation  of  the  treaties  of  eighteen  hundred  and 
fifteen.  Notwithstanding  these  protests,  the  republic  of  Krakof 
was  suppressed,  and  the  city  itself  was  annexed  to  Austria  on 
the  eleventh  of  November,  eighteen  hundred  and  forty-six. 


80 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chaf.  IIL 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF  EIGHTEEN  HUNDRED  AND 

FORTY-EIGHT. 

The  Revolution  of  eighteen  hundred  and  forty-eight  shook 
Europe  with  a  violence  which  had  been  hitherto  unfelt.  Not 
only  all  Italy  and  Western  Germany  shared  in  the  movement, 
but  countries  which  till  now  had  seemed  opposed  to  the  new 
ideas,  and  which  had  been  the  very  bulwark  of  monarchical 
Europe  against  the  revolutionary  spirit,  caught  the  infection, 
and  the  excitement  spread  even  to  the  frontiers  of  Russia. 
The  Germanic  constitution  was  overthrown ;  the  Germans 
called  a  Parliament  at  Frankfort,  at  which  the  principle  of 
German  unity  was  laid  down  in  a  way  which  threatened  the 
dissolution  of  the  Austrian  State.  “  Germany,”  it  was  said, 
“  exists  wherever  German  is  spoken  ”  ;  the  Slavs  held  a  con¬ 
gress  at  Prague,  and  discussed  the  formation  of  a  Slavic  repub¬ 
lic.  The  Emperor  Ferdinand  was  driven  from  Vienna,  and 
signed  the  act  of  abdication  in  favor  of  his  nephew  Francis- 
Joseph.  At  Berlin  Frederick- William  the  Fourth  saluted  the 
corpses  which  were  publicly  displayed  by  the  revolutionists. 
Hungary  rose  at  the  voice  of  the  great  patriot,  Louis  Kossuth, 
and  on  the  fourteenth  of  April,  eighteen  hundred  and  forty- 
nine,  declared  itself  free  and  independent.  Even  the  Danu- 
bian  principalities,  influenced  by  the  party  of  Rumanian  unity, 
dethroned  the  Hospodar  Bibesco  in  Valakhia  and  the  Hospo- 
dar  Sturdza  in  Moldavia.  Where  would  the  movement  stop  ? 
Plots  were  discovered  in  Russia ;  Poland,  whose  national  ban¬ 
ner  the  Parisian  workmen  waved  in  their  tumultuous  proces¬ 
sions,  quivered  with  excitement. 

The  Emperor  Nicholas  planted  himself  in  the  face  of  revo¬ 
lutionary  Europe.  He  first  acted  in  the  countries  nearest  to 
him.  He  used  the  might  of  his  influence  to  prevent  the  King 
of  Prussia  from  accepting  the  imperial  crown  of  Germany. 
He  sent  an  army  to  the  principalities,  on  the  pretext  that  he 
felt  it  his  duty  to  defeat  any  effort  that  might  be  made  to  im- 


1825  -1855.]  NICHOLAS  I.:  FOREIGN  RELATIONS. 


81 


pair  the  integrity  of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  now  more  than  ever 
essential  to  the  maintenance  of  general  peace.  He  seized  the 
moment  when  the  successful  Hungarian  insurrection  had  re¬ 
ceived  a  shock  from  the  counter  Kroat  insurrection  to  violate 
the  law  of  nations,  and  send  an  army  to  the  assistance  of  the 
young  Emperor  Erancis- Joseph.  In  spite  of  the  protests  of  the 
Hungarian  emissaries  at  Paris  and  London,  neither  France  nor 
England  was  willing  to  take  any  official  steps  to  prevent  the 
intervention  of  the  Tsar.  Lord  Palmerston  refused  to  recognize 
Hungary,  except  as  an  integral  portion  of  the  Austrian  Em¬ 
pire  ;  and  when  Count  Nesselrode  in  a  circular  note  dated 
February  the  ninth  announced  the  entrance  of  the  Russian 
troops  into  Transylvania,  solely  with  a  humanitarian  view  and 
to  protect  two  cities  against  the  pillage  and  massacres  of  the 
Hungarians,  he  did  not  feel  himself  authorized  to  make  any 
reply. 

Buda  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Hungarians.  The  Austrian 
army  was  defeated  at  all  points.  Had  England  and  France 
acknowledged  its  declaration  of  independence,  the  Tsar  would 
not  have  ventured  to  cross  the  boundary.  But  the  silence  of 
the  two  courts  virtually  gave  him  a  safeguard ;  and  he,  as  the 
universal  restorer  of  European  order,  could  not  see  a  free  state 
established  at  his  very  doors,  to  encourage  the  already  too  sus¬ 
ceptible  Poles  in  their  desires  for  liberty.  Moreover,  the  Hun¬ 
garians  had  shown  special  sympathy  for  the  Polish  revolution 
of  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-one,  and  he  was  glad  of  the 
opportunity  to  teach  his  subjects  a  new  lesson  by  helping  to 
crush  the  malcontents  of  a  neighboring  state. 

On  the  first  of  May  it  was  officially  announced  in  Vienna 
that  the  Emperor  of  Austria  having  asked  for  the  armed  as¬ 
sistance  of  Russia,  the  Tsar  had  immediately  granted  it  “with 
the  most  generous  zeal  and  in  the  most  liberal  manner.”  And 
the  Saint  Petersburg  Gazette  during  the  same  month  published 
a  manifesto,  by  which  the  Emperor  of  all  the  Russias  gave 
notice  that,  at  the  request  of  the  Austrian  Emperor,  he  was 


VOL.  III. 


6 


82 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  III. 


about  to  send  bis  armies  to  crush  the  revolution  in  Hungary, 
“  where  the  Polish  traitors  of  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-one, 
together  with  refugees  and  exiles  from  other  nations,  were 
usurping  the  power.”  This  fact  of  foreign  influence  at  work 
in  Hungary  was  made  especially  prominent  as  a  sort  of  justi¬ 
fication  ;  yet,  while  the  Hungarian  army  amounted  to  nearly 
two  hundred  thousand,  the  number  of  foreigners  who  took 
service  was  estimated  not  to  exceed  five  thousand,  only  three 
fifths  of  whom  were  Poles,  and  the  majority  of  those,  Galicians. 

Paskievitch  was  charged  to  complete  in  the  plains  of  Hun¬ 
gary  his  victory  over  Poland.  Having  made  all  the  arrange¬ 
ments  of  a  prudent  general,  he  entered  Hungary  in  the  north,  at 
the  head  of  an  army  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  men. 
On  June  the  nineteenth  General  Liiders  also  invaded  Transyl¬ 
vania  with  more  than  fifty  thousand  men.  The  total  force  of 
Russian  troops  destined  to  co-operate  with  the  Austrian  troops 
was  upwards  of  one  hundred  and  ninety  thousand  men.  To  op¬ 
pose  to  this  immense  army,  which,  with  the  Austrians,  amounted 
to  three  hundred  thousand  men,  the  government  of  Kossuth 
could  furnish  only  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand.  The 
Polish  general,  Vysotski,  had  taken,  in  the  north,  the  place  of 
Dembinski,  who  had  been  forced  to  resign  by  the  machina¬ 
tions  of  General  Gorgey.  Paskievitch  defeated  the  Hungarian 
army  at  many  points,  occupied  all  Transylvania,  and  on  the 
twelfth  of  August,  eighteen  hundred  and  forty-nine,  received 
the  traitorous  capitulation  of  the  generalissimo,  Gorgey,  at 
Vilagos.  General  Bern  retreated  to  Transylvania,  and  met  the 
Russians  at  Deva.  He  obtained  an  armistice  of  twenty-four 
hours ;  but,  finding  that  he  could  not  control  his  men,  he  re¬ 
signed  his  command,  and  with  Guyon,  Stein,  and  a  few  others, 
escaped  to  Turkish  soil. 

The  emperors  of  Austria  and  Russia  demanded  the  extra¬ 
dition  of  the  refugees ;  but  the  Sultan,  feeling  that  it  was  a 
question  of  honor  with  him  not  to  violate  the  right  of  asylum, 
addressed  a  note  to  the  representatives  of  Prance  and  England, 


1825-1855.]  NICHOLAS  I.:  FOREIGN  RELATIONS. 


83 


asking,  if  the  question  of  the  refugees  should  lead  to  war  be¬ 
tween  the  allied  emperors  and  the  Sultan,  whether  Turkey  could 
be  assured  of  the  support  of  the  Western  powers.  The  repre¬ 
sentatives  replied  in  the  affirmative,  and  Sir  Stratford  Can¬ 
ning  summoned  the  English  fleet  to  approach  Constantinople. 
Turkey  therefore  absolutely  refused  to  submit  to  the  wishes  of 
the  two  emperors ;  Russia  and  Austria,  foreseeing  complica¬ 
tions,  consented  that  their  rebellious  subjects  should  be  simply 
expelled  or  sent  into  the  interior.  General  Bern  and  several 
hundred  of  his  companions  abjured  Christianity  and  became 
Mussulmans,  hoping  that  they  would  thus  have  the  chance 
to  avenge  themselves  on  the  enemies  of  their  country.  Not¬ 
withstanding  the  protection  afforded  them  by  Turkey,  these 
unfortunate  refugees  underwent  terrible  sufferings ;  from  ex¬ 
posure  and  lack  of  food  nearly  four  hundred  died  in  less  than 
two  months.  The  Austrian  government,  fearing  that  they 
would  form  the  nucleus  of  an  army,  offered  certain  conditions 
for  their  return,  and  about  three  thousand  of  them  accepted. 
Of  those  who  remained,  the  converts  were  isolated  at  Alep ; 
the  others,  including  Kossuth,  Batthyany,  Meszaros,  and  Vy- 
sotski,  were  sent  to  Kutahia,  in  Asia  Minor.  But,  owing  to 
the  sympathy  of  Europe,  their  captivity  lasted  only  till  eigh¬ 
teen  hundred  and  fifty-one.  The  United  States  government 
sent  a  frigate  to  convey  the  heroes  to  its  hospitable  shores. 
Before  they  departed  General  Bern,  “the  hero  of  Hungary  and 
Poland,”  died  at  Alep.  “  Hungary  is  at  the  feet  of  your  maj¬ 
esty,”  Paskievitch  had  written  to  Nicholas.  The  capitulation 
of  Vilagos,  the  surrender  of  Bern  and  Kazinczy,  the  fall  of 
Arad  and  Munkacs,  the  flight  of  Kossuth  and  the  government, 
assured  the  stability  of  the  victory.  Two  points,  however,  still 
remained  unconquered.  Over  the  fortresses  of  Petervarad 
and  Komaron  still  floated  the  flag  of  Hungarian  indepen¬ 
dence.  General  Klapka,  with  about  eighteen  thousand  men, 
still  hoped  to  make  a  firm  resistance.  It  was  only  after  the 
news  of  the  successive  victories  gained  by  the  Russians  and 


84 


HISTORY  OP  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  III. 


the  surrender  of  Petervarad  that  Klapka  decided  to  give  up 
the  vain  struggle.  On  October  the  fifth  the  Austrian  flag 
replaced  the  tricolor. 

On  the  second  anniversary  of  the  death  of  the  Austrian 
minister,  Latour,  began  the  work  of  vengeance.  The  chiefs 
of  the  national  defence  were  put  to  death  by  order  of  Prancis- 
Joseph.  Louis  Batthyany  was  the  first  victim;  on  the  same 
day  thirteen  other  patriots  were  executed  at  Arad.  Not  only 
for  days  and  months,  but  for  years,  the  punishments  inaugu¬ 
rated  by  General  Haynau  were  carried  out  in  all  rigor, 
Prancis-Joseph  treated  Hungary  more  cruelly  than  Nicholas 
had  treated  Poland.  All  the  germs  of  nationality  were  de¬ 
stroyed.  The  general  constitution  was  abolished ;  the  national 
diets,  the  ministry,  the  separate  administration,  the  communal 
system,  —  all  was  destroyed.  The  paper  money  issued  by  the 
national  government  was  burned,  and,  in  addition  to  the  dis¬ 
tress  thus  caused,  new  and  heavy  taxes  were  imposed.  The 
national  language,  church,  and  institutions  were  crushed. 
Thus  cruelly  resulted  Russian  intervention  in  Hungary. 

But  the  Tsar’s  interference  with  the  Danish  question  had 
happy  consequences.  He  sent  a  fleet  to  support  the  demands 
of  the  Danish  government;  and  on  the  tenth  of  July  a 
treaty  was  signed  at  Berlin  granting  a  six  months’  armistice, 
and  obliging  the  Prussian  and  German  troops  to  evacuate 
the  duchies  which  were  to  have  a  separate  administration. 
Thus  the  rights  of  Denmark  upon  the  Baltic  and  North  Seas 
were  secured  against  the  unjust  pretensions  of  Germany,  and 
the  revolted  Holsteiners  were  deprived  of  foreign  support. 
On  the  eighth  of  May,  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-two,  Nicho¬ 
las  joined  the  other  powers  in  causing  the  integrity  of  the 
Danish  monarchy  to  be  recognized  at  the  treaty  of  London. 

Nicholas’s  power  blazed  forth  for  the  last  time  when,  on  the 
fifteenth  of  May,  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-two,  he  reviewed 
the  Austrian  army  on  the  slopes  of  Vienna,  and  pressed  to  his 
heart  that  Austrian  sovereign  “  whose  ingratitude  was  to  as¬ 
tonish  Europe.” 


CHAPTER  IV. 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 

1853-1855. 

Louis  Napoleon.  —  Change  in  the  English  Cabinet.  — Ministry  of 
Lord  Aberdeen.  —  The  Holy  Sites.  —  Conversations  between 
the  Emperor  Nicholas  and  Sir  George  Hamilton  Seymour. 

AT  the  other  extremity  of  Europe  arose  a  man  who  seemed 
to  co-operate  with  Nicholas  in  his  attempts  to  put  an 
end  to  the  European  revolution.  On  his  advancing  path  to¬ 
ward  the  empire,  Louis  Napoleon,  by  his  subservience  to  the 
Church  of  Rome,  won  the  special  approbation  of  the  Pope ; 
by  the  expedition  to  Rome  he  extinguished  the  Italian  re¬ 
public  ;  by  the  December  coup-d’etat  he  raised  himself  above 
the  ruins  of  the  French  republic.  Nicholas,  almost  recon¬ 
ciled  to  the  hated  name  of  Bonaparte,  and  to  the  imminent 
restoration  of  the  Napoleonic  dynasty,  remarked,  “  France 
has  been  setting  an  evil  example ;  it  will  now  set  a  good  one. 
I  have  faith  in  the  wisdom  of  Louis  Napoleon.” 

The  Second  Empire,  however,  was  to  make  him  suffer  in 
return  for  his  hostile  and  impolitic  conduct  toward  the  July 
monarchy  and  the  republic  of  eighteen  hundred  and  forty- 
eight.  His  desire  for  the  coup-d’etat  was  gratified,  but  to 
his  own  hurt. 

The  new  French  government  espoused  the  cause  of  the 
Latin  monks  in  their  quarrel  with  the  Greek  monks  about  the 
places  which  tradition  assigned  as  the  scenes  of  the  birth  and 
sufferings  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  chief  bone  of  contention  was 
the  possession  of  the  key  to  the  great  door  of  the  church  at 


86 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  IV. 


Bethlehem  and  the  right  to  place  a  silver  star  in  the  sacred 
grotto  where  it  was  claimed  Christ  was  born.  This  petty 
quarrel  covered  deeper  political  complications.  Religious  fa¬ 
naticism,  wakened  by  the  discussion,  was  fanned  by  the 
Trench  Emperor  into  a  flame  of  enthusiasm;  he  knew  that 
Russia  was  unlikely  to  yield  the  point,  and  that  if  he  allowed 
himself  to  be  humiliated  by  the  Tsar,  his  influence  would  be 
destroyed.  The  unforgotten  retreat  from  Moscow,  the  pres¬ 
ence  of  the  Russian  army  in  Paris,  the  partition  of  Poland, 
the  attitude  of  Nicholas  since  the  flight  of  Charles  the  Tenth, 
all  served  to  irritate  the  Trench  people,  and  Napoleon  craft¬ 
ily  calculated  upon  their  support  in  his  struggle  with  the 
Tsar. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-two, 
almost  immediately  after  the  proclamation  of  the  Empire  in 
Trance,  a  vote  passed  by  the  English  House  of  Commons 
upon  Disraeli’s  “  clever  and  elaborate  system  of  finance  ”  led 
to  the  resignation  of  Earl  Derby’s  Tory  ministry,  which,  as 
was  well  known,  was  inclined  to  the  Trench  alliance.  A 
coalition  cabinet  was  immediately  formed  by  the  Earl  of 
Aberdeen.  Several  members  of  the  new  government  were 
so  opposed  to  the  Trench  Empire  that  they  did  not  hesitate 
to  give  public  expression  to  this  hostility.  The  majority  did 
not  declare  themselves,  but  there  was  only  one  decided  par¬ 
tisan  of  the  Napoleonic  regime.  To  be  sure,  this  single  ad¬ 
herent  was  none  other  than  Lord  Palmerston ;  but  while  it 
seemed  that  the  natural  place  for  this  statesman  was  in  the 
Toreign  Office,  it  was  seen  that  he  was  transferred  to  the 
Department  of  the  Interior,  and  the  provisional  direction  of 
foreign  affairs  was  entrusted  to  Lord  John  Russell  until  the 
arrival  of  the  Earl  of  Clarendon.  This  unexpected  disposi¬ 
tion  of  the  secretaryships  made  a  sensation.  At  London  and 
throughout  Europe  it  was  interpreted  as  an  evidence  of  cool¬ 
ness  between  England  and  Trance.  Nowhere  was  the  news 
more  joyfully  received  than  at  Saint  Petersburg. 


1853  -  1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


87 


The  Turkish  government,  obliged  on  the  one  hand  to  yield 
to  the  demands  of  the  Tsar,  and  on  the  other  terrified  at  the 
French  threat  of  an  appeal  to  arms,  had  failed  to  make  good 
its  promises  in  regard  to  the  Holy  sites.  The  concessions 
which  were  made  by  the  court  of  Constantinople  were  not 
carried  out  at  Jerusalem ;  and  the  Tsar,  on  the  watch  for  his 
opportunity,  did  not  fail  to  proclaim  this  lack  of  good  faith 
and  denounce  it  as  an  insult  to  his  own  person.  If  he  should 
succeed  in  persuading  England  to  recognize  his  grievances,  to 
share  his  views,  and  to  assist  in  his  plans,  it  was  over  with 
the  Turkish  Empire.  The  enterprise  was  delicate,  difficult, 
possibly  risky;  but  should  he  succeed,  what  a  triumph  it 
would  be !  The  authority  of  his  person  and  his  name,  the 
ascendency  which  he  enjoyed  throughout  the  world,  the  eight- 
and-twenty  years  of  a  reign  second  to  none,  his  steadfastness 
in  a  well-tried  policy,  the  order  and  peace  which  he  had 
done  most  to  maintain  throughout  Europe,  did  not  stand 
in  the  way  of  his  sacrifice,  if  it  was  necessary.  But,  in  play¬ 
ing  so  dangerous  a  game,  he  determined  to  trust  no  one 
but  himself.  Never  before  in  the  history  of  the  world  did 
a  monarch  so  absolutely  and  directly  take  upon  himself  a 
responsibility. 

On  the  ninth  of  January,  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-three, 
at  a  reception  given  by  the  Grand  Duchess  Helena,  the  Em¬ 
peror  Nicholas  approached  the  British  ambassador,  Sir  George 
Hamilton  Seymour,  spoke  to  him  graciously  of  the  new 
ministry  which  had  just  been  formed  in  London,  and  sent 
his  especial  congratulations  to  Lord  Aberdeen,  with  whom 
he  had  been  acquainted  for  nearly  forty  years.  He  added : 
“  You  know  my  sentiments  in  regard  to  England ;  it  is  es¬ 
sential  for  the  two  governments  —  that  is,  for  England  and 
me  —  to  be  on  the  best  terms.  Never  was  the  necessity  of 
it  greater  than  at  present.  I  beg  of  you  to  transmit  these 
words  to  Lord  John  Bussell.  If  vve  agree,  I  have  no  solici¬ 
tude  about  Western  Europe;  what  others  may  think  is  in 


88 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  IY. 


reality  of  little  consequence.  As  to  Turkey,  that  is  another 
question.  That  country  is  in  a  critical  state,  and  may  easily 
give  us  much  embarrassment.” 

Thereupon,  without  any  further  explanation,  the  Tsar  was 
in  the  act  of  turning  from  the  English  minister,  when  the 
latter,  finding  the  conversation  interesting,  but  incomplete, 
and  fearing  that  an  opportunity  to  renew  it  would  not  soon 
occur,  ventured  to  ask  the  Emperor  for  a  few  words  in  regard 
to  the  Ottoman  Empire  more  assuring  than  those  he  had  just 
uttered.  The  Tsar  hesitated  at  first,  and  seemed  disinclined 
to  go  beyond  generalities ;  then,  suddenly,  like  a  person 
about  to  commit  himself,  “  Well,”  said  he,  “  we  have  on  our 
hands  a  sick  man,  a  very  sick  man.  I  tell  you  frankly  it  would 
be  a  great  misfortune  if  he  should  give  us  the  slip  some  of 
these  days,  especially  if  it  happened  before  all  the  necessary 
arrangements  were  made.  But  this  is  not  the  fitting  time  to 
speak  to  you  of  these  things.” 

Five  days  afterwards,  on  the  fourteenth  of  January,  Sir 
George  Hamilton  Seymour  was  informed  by  the  chancellor, 
Count  Nesselrode,  that  the  Tsar  wished  to  have  an  interview 
with  him.  He  immediately  repaired  to  the  palace.  The 
Tsar  was  alone,  and  ready  to  take  up  the  conversation,  the 
prologue  to  which  at  the  Grand  Duchess’s  reception  had  been 
so  interesting,  but  so  short  and  mysterious.  Though  couched 
in  a  courteous  and  familiar  form,  the  discourse  which  the  Em¬ 
peror  delivered  before  his  auditor  was  methodical  and  care¬ 
fully  composed.  “  You  know  the  dreams  and  plans  in  which 
the  Empress  Catherine  was  in  the  habit  of  indulging ;  they 
have  been  handed  down  to  our  day ;  but  while  I  inherited  im¬ 
mense  territorial  possessions,  I  did  not  inherit  those  visions, 
or  those  intentions,  if  you  prefer  the  name.  My  country  is 
so  vast,  so  happily  circumstanced  in  every  way,  that  it  would 
be  unreasonable  in  me  to  desire  more  territory  or  more 
power  than  I  possess.  On  the  contrary,  I  am  the  first  to 
tell  you  that  our  great,  perhaps  our  only  danger,  is  that 


^853  -  1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


89 


which  would  arise  from  an  extension  given  to  an  empire 
already  too  large. 

“  Very  near  us  lies  Turkey,  and,  in  our  present  situation, 
nothing  better  for  our  interests  can  be  desired ;  the  time  has 
gone  by  when  we  had  anything  to  fear  from  the  fanatical 
spirit  or  the  military  enterprise  of  the  Turks.  That  country 
is  strong  enough,  or  has  hitherto  been  strong  enough,  to  pre¬ 
serve  its  independence  and  to  insure  respectful  treatment  from 
other  countries. 

“  Now,  in  that  empire  there  are  several  millions  of  Chris¬ 
tians,  whose  interests  I  am  called  upon  to  watch  over.  More¬ 
over,  the  right  of  doing  so  is  secured  to  me  by  treaty.  I  may 
truly  say  that  I  make  a  moderate  and  sparing  use  of  my  right, 
and  I  will  even  confess  frankly  that  it  is  attended  with  obliga¬ 
tions  which  are  occasionally  trying ;  but  I  cannot  withdraw 
from  the  discharge  of  a  distinct  duty.  Our  religion,  as  estab¬ 
lished  in  this  country,  came  to  us  from  the  East,  and  there 
are  feelings  and  obligations  which  must  never  be  lost  from 
view. 

“  But  Turkey,  placed  as  it  is,  has  by  degrees  fallen  into 
such  a  state  of  decrepitude,  that,  as  I  said  the  other  evening, 
however  anxious  we  all  may  be  to  prolong  the  sick  man’s 
existence,  —  and  I  beg  you  to  believe  that  I  am  as  desirous 
as  you  can  be  for  his  continued  existence,  —  he  may  suddenly 
die  upon  our  hands.  We  cannot  bring  the  dead  to  life 
again :  if  the  Turkish  Empire  falls,  it  falls  to  rise  no  more ; 
and  I  put  it  to  you,  therefore,  whether  it  is  not  better  to  be 
provided  beforehand  for  such  a  contingency  than  to  run  the 
risk  of  the  chaos,  the  confusion,  the  certainty  of  a  European 
war,  all  of  which  would  attend  the  catastrophe,  if  it  should 
occur  unexpectedly  and  before  some  ulterior  system  has  been 
sketched.  This  is  the  point  on  which  lam  desirous  that  you 
should  call  the  attention  of  your  government.” 

The  English  diplomatist  answered,  in  substance,  that  Tur¬ 
key  had  more  than  once  emerged  from  crises  in  which  it  had 


90 


HISTORY  OR  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  IV. 


been  believed  that  the  end  had  come,  that  England  was  not 
as  a  general  thing  inclined  to  make  these  provisional  engage¬ 
ments,  and  that  in  fact  it  would  be  very  loath  to  anticipate 
the  succession  of  an  old  friend  and  ally. 

“  The  principle  is  excellent,”  replied  the  Emperor,  “  espe¬ 
cially  in  times  of  uncertainty  and  change  like  the  present. 
Nevertheless,  it  is  of  the  highest  importance  that  we  should 
understand  one  another,  and  not  allow  ourselves  to  be  taken 
by  surprise.  Now  I  want  to  speak  with  you  as  a  friend  and 
as  a  gentleman :  if  England  and  I  come  to  an  understanding 
in  regard  to  this  matter,  everything  else  is  indifferent  to  me, 
no  matter  what  the  others  think  and  do.  So  I  tell  you,  with¬ 
out  reservation,  that  if  England  expects  to  get  a  foothold  some 
time  in  Constantinople,  I  will  not  allow  it.  Not  that  I  ascribe 
that  intention  to  you,  but  it  is  better  to  speak  frankly.  As 
for  my  part,  I  am  equally  willing  to  engage  not  to  establish 
myself  there,  —  that  is,  as  a  proprietor,  I  do  not  say  as  a 
guardian.  If  no  precautions  are  taken,  if  everything  is  left 
to  chance,  I  may  be  obliged  by  circumstances  to  occupy  Con¬ 
stantinople.” 

However  startling  to  Sir  Hamilton  Seymour  the  Emperor’s 
overtures  may  have  been,  they  were  not  new  to  the  British 
government;  for  when  Nicholas  visited  England  in  June, 
eighteen  hundred  and  forty-four,  he  held  long  conversations 
upon  the  Eastern  question  with  the  Duke  of  Wellington, 
Lord  Aberdeen,  and  Sir  Robert  Peel.  His  propositions,  or 
rather  his  ideas,  of  uniting  the  two  governments  in  a  special 
agreement  upon  this  question  were  committed  to  a  memoran¬ 
dum  by  Count  Nesselrode,  which  was  sent  to  London,  and 
deposited  in  the  secret  archives  of  the  Foreign  Office. 

This  conversation  having  been  fully  reported  to  the  English 
government,  Lord  John  Russell  replied  on  the  ninth  of  Feb¬ 
ruary,  congratulating  the  Emperor  on  his  moderation,  frank¬ 
ness,  and  friendly  disposition,  asserting  that  an  agreement  to 
divide  the  Sultan’s  provinces  before  the  dissolution  of  the 


1853-1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


91 


Turkish  Empire  would  tend  to  hasten  the  very  contingency. 
Lord  John  Russell’s  note  also  insinuated  that  no  policy  more 
wise,  disinterested,  and  beneficent  could  be  followed  by  the 
Russian  Empire  than  that  “which  his  Imperial  Majesty  has  so 
long  followed  and  which  will  render  his  name  more  illustri¬ 
ous  than  that  of  the  most  famous  sovereigns  who  have  sought 
immortality  by  unprovoked  conquest  and  ephemeral  glory.” 
The  greatest  forbearance  towards  Turkey  was  advised,  and 
friendly  negotiations  rather  than  peremptory  demands  were 
to  be  the  remedies  for  grievances.  Thus  the  English  govern¬ 
ment  and  the  Tsar  held  views  diametrically  opposed  to  each 
other,  —  the  former  being  unwilling  to  enter  into  any  secret 
stipulation,  and  not  recognizing  the  probability  of  Turkish 
dissolution. 

On  the  twentieth  of  Eebruary  Sir  Hamilton  Seymour,  after 
communicating  Lord  John  Russell’s  despatch  to  Count  Nes¬ 
selrode,  announced  his  intention  of  sending  a  copy  to  the 
Tsar  the  following  day.  The  same  evening,  at  the  reception, 
he  met  the  Tsar,  who  said,  “  I  hear  that  you  have  received 
your  answer  and  are  to  bring  it  to  me  to-morrow  ?  ”  “  Sire, 
I  am  to  have  that  honor,”  was  his  reply,  “  but  your  Majesty 
is  aware  that  the  answer  is  precisely  what  I  had  led  you  to 
expect.” 

“  So  I  was  sorry  to  hear ;  but  I  think  your  government 
does  not  understand  my  object.  I  am  not  so  anxious  to 
know  what  shall  be  done  when  the  sick  man  dies,  as  to 
determine  with  England  what  shall  not  be  done.” 

And  when  Sir  George  Hamilton  Seymour  protested  that 
Turkey  was  not  dying,  but  would  exist  for  many  years  unless 
the  event  were  hastened  by  the  rash  action  of  Russia,  the 
Tsar  answered  with  some  asperity :  “  I  will  tell  you  that  if 
your  government  has  been  led  to  believe  that  Turkey  retains 
any  elements  of  existence,  it  must  have  received  incorrect 
information.  I  repeat  it  to  you :  the  sick  man  is  dying,  and 
we  can  never  allow  such  an  event  to  take  us  by  surprise.  We 


92 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  IT. 


must  come  to  some  understanding ;  and  this  we  should  do,  I 
am  sure,  if  I  could  hold  but  ten  minutes’  conversation  with 
your  ministers ;  with  Lord  Aberdeen,  for  example,  who  knows 
me  so  well,  who  has  full  confidence  in  me,  as  I  have  in  him. 
And  remember,  I  do  not  ask  for  a  treaty  or  a  protocol;  a 
general  understanding  is  all  I  require;  between  gentlemen, 
that  is  sufficient.” 

It  did  not  require  very  deep  discernment  on  Sir  George 
Seymour’s  part  to  penetrate  the  designs  of  the  Emperor. 
That  very  day  he  drew  the  following  conclusion  from  the 
hasty  skirmish  which  he  had  with  him :  “  There  is  no  room 
for  doubt  that  a  sovereign  who  insists  so  strenuously  upon  the 
imminent  downfall  of  a  neighboring  state  has  decided  in  his 
own  mind  that  the  hour  has  come,  not  to  expect  its  dissolu¬ 
tion,  but  to  hasten  it.  The  Emperor’s  aim  would  be  to  in¬ 
duce  the  Queen’s  government,  in  accord  with  the  cabinets  of 
Saint  Petersburg  and  Vienna,  to  engage  in  a  plan  of  dividing 
Turkey,  and  excluding  Erance  from  such  an  arrangement.” 

On  the  following  day  Sir  George  Seymour  read  Lord  Rus¬ 
sell’s  despatch  to  the  Emperor,  who  made  comments  as  he 
proceeded.  The  Emperor  regretted  that  the  English  govern¬ 
ment  had  not  directly  answered  the  question  as  to  what  ought 
not  to  be  permitted  in  case  of  the  sudden  downfall  of  Turkey. 
The  ambassador  replied,  “  Perhaps  your  Majesty  would  be  good 
enough  to  explain  your  own  ideas  upon  this  negative  policy.” 
This  for  some  time  the  Emperor  refused  to  do ;  but  in  his 
efforts  to  draw  his  prudent  adversary  upon  his  own  ground, 
he  himself  had  gone  too  far  to  beat  an  honorable  retreat. 
“  Well,”  he  said  at  last,  “there  are  several  things  which  I  will 
never  allow ;  and,  in  the  first  place,  as  regards  ourselves  :  I  do 
not  desire  the  permanent  occupation  of  Constantinople  by  the 
Russians ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  having  said  this,  I  will 
say  that  it  shall  never  be  held  by  the  English,  nor  by  the 
Erench,  nor  by  any  other  of  the  great  powers.  Again,  I  will 
never  permit  an  attempt  to  reconstruct  a  Byzantine  Empire, 


1&53-1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


93 


or  such  an  extension  of  Greece  as  would  render  it  a  powerful 
state.  Still  less  would  I  permit  the  partition  of  Turkey  into 
little  republics,  ready-made  asylums  for  the  Kossuths,  the 
Mazzinis,  and  the  other  revolutionists  of  Europe.  Rather 
than  submit  to  any  of  these  arrangements,  I  would  go  to 
war,  and  carry  it  on  as  long  as  I  have  a  man  and  a  mus¬ 
ket  left/> 

The  English  ambassador,  in  his  turn  somewhat  aroused, 
took  refuge  in  the  strong  position  which  he  occupied  from 
the  very  first,  —  Why  should  they  continue  to  discuss  the 
downfall  of  the  Turkish  Empire  and  the  arrangements  to 
be  made,  when  it  would  be  far  better  to  bring  the  sick 
man  to  health  ?  The  Tsar  then  spoke  of  France,  and  hinted 
that  the  French,  in  their  designs  upon  Tunis,  were  trying  to 
embroil  matters  in  Constantinople  and  Montenegro.  He  had 
offered  the  Sultan  the  support  of  Russia  in  case  France  re¬ 
sorted  to  threats.  Sir  George  Hamilton  Seymour  replied  that 
the  English  government  would  not  tolerate  the  presence  of  the 
French  at  Constantinople ;  and,  in  order  to  find  out  whether 
there  was  any  understanding  between  the  cabinets  of  Saint 
Petersburg  and  Vienna,  he  added,  “  But  your  Majesty  has 
forgotten  Austria.  All  these  Eastern  questions  are  of  great 
importance  to  her.  She  would  naturally  expect  to  be  con¬ 
sulted.”  “  You  must  understand,”  replied  the  Emperor  with¬ 
out  a  moment’s  hesitation,  “  that  when  I  speak  of  Russia,  I 
speak  of  Austria  as  well.  What  suits  the  one  suits  the  other. 
Our  interests,  as  regards  Turkey,  are  perfectly  identical.” 

Sir  Hamilton  Seymour,  then  making  some  allusion  to  the 
ambition  of  the  Russian  people,  who  for  many  years  had  har¬ 
bored  designs  against  Turkey,  the  Tsar  replied  that  the  Em¬ 
press  Catherine  had  indulged  in  dreams  of  conquest,  but  they 
had  not  been  shared  by  her  descendants.  “You  see  how  I 
am  treating  the  Sultan.  He  breaks  his  word,  and  acts  to¬ 
wards  me  in  a  singularly  vexatious  manner;  yet  I  am  satisfied 
to  despatch  an  ambassador  to  Constantinople  to  demand  repa- 


94 


HISTORY  OP  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  IY. 


ration.  I  should  certainly  be  justified  in  sending  an  army, 
if  I  so  pleased,  which  nothing  could  stop ;  but  I  content  my¬ 
self  with  a  simple  demonstration,  to  prove  that  I  do  not  mean 
to  be  trifled  with.”  The  English  minister,  who  at  that  time 
had  no  reason  to  distrust  the  Tsar’s  moderation,  offered  him 
his  sincere  congratulations,  and  the  conversation  then  came 
back  to  the  dissolution  of  the  Turkish  Empire.  Without  pay¬ 
ing  the  slightest  heed  to  what  he  had  said  a  few  moments 
before,  the  Emperor  began  boldly  to  discuss  a  plan  of  par¬ 
tition  in  the  event  of  the  dissolution  of  the  Ottoman  Empire. 
“  The  Principalities,”  he  said,  “  are,  in  fact,  an  independent 
state  under  my  protection ;  this  might  so  continue.  Serbia 
might  receive  a  similar  form  of  government,  Bulgaria  the 
same.  There  is  no  reason,  so  far  as  I  know,  why  this  prov¬ 
ince  should  not  form  an  independent  State.  As  to  Egypt,  I 
quite  understand  the  importance  to  England  of  that  territory. 
All  that  I  can  say  is  that,  in  case  of  a  distribution  of  the 
Ottoman  domain  upon  the  fall  of  the  empire,  if  you  should 
take  possession  of  Egypt,  I  should  have  no  objections  to 
offer.  I  would  say  the  same  thing  of  Candia;  that  island 
might  suit  you,  and  I  do  not  see  why  it  should  not  become 
an  English  possession.”  Here  the  ambassador  felt  called 
upon  to  answer  coldly  that  the  designs  of  England  upon 
Egypt  did  not  go  beyond  the  point  of  securing  a  safe  and 
ready  communication  between  British  India  and  the  mother 
country. 

The  Tsar,  who  was  not  satisfied  with  the  first  reception  of  his 
overtures,  commanded  Sir  George  Seymour  to  engage  his  gov¬ 
ernment  to  write  with  the  fullest  confidence  and  detail  about 
this  matter.  “  It  is  not  an  engagement,  a  treaty,  which  I  ask 
for,  but  a  free  interchange  of  ideas,  and,  if  necessary,  the  word 
of  a  gentleman.  Between  us  that  is  enough.”  In  this  inter¬ 
view  the  Tsar,  without  doubt,  exposed  his  position  more  com¬ 
pletely  than  he  intended,  or  than  was  well  for  the  success  of 
his  tactics.  He  had  unmasked  his  batteries  prematurely.  So 


1853-1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


95 


for  the  first  time  since  the  beginning  of  this  extraordinary 
negotiation,  the  Chancellor  of  the  empire,  the  consummate 
diplomatist,  Count  Nesselrode,  was  brought,  like  a  reserve, 
into  the  action.  Apparently  as  an  official  answer  to  the  offi¬ 
cial  despatch  of  Lord  John  Russell,  on  March  the  seventh  he 
gave  Sir  George  Hamilton  Seymour  a  memorandum,  dated 
February  the  twenty-first,  as  though  it  had  been  written  im¬ 
mediately  after  the  conversation  with  the  Emperor.  The 
Tsar’s  principal  arguments  were  reproduced  in  it;  but  re¬ 
vised,  corrected,  and  freed  from  all  imprudent  and  exagger¬ 
ated  developments. 

The  Russian  chancellor  took  especial  pains  to  explain  the 
project  of  partition,  which  the  Emperor  had  been  rash  enough 
to  develop  before  the  English  ambassador.  “  In  conversing 
familiarly  with  the  British  envoy,”  the  memorandum  ran, 
“  upon  the  causes  which  from  one  day  to  another  may  bring 
about  the  fall  of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  it  had  by  no  means 
entered  into  the  Emperor’s  thoughts  to  propose  for  this  con¬ 
tingency  either  a  plan  or  a  system  entirely  arranged  by  which 
Russia  and  England  should  dispose  beforehand  of  the  prov¬ 
inces  ruled  by  the  Sultan ;  still  less  a  formal  agreement  to 
be  concluded  between  the  two  cabinets.  It  was  purely  and 
simply  the  Emperor’s  notion  that  each  party  should  confiden¬ 
tially  state  to  the  other  less  what  it  wishes  than  what  it  does 
not  wish, — what  would  be  contrary  to  English  interests,  what 
would  be  contrarv  to  Russian  interests,  —  in  order  that,  the 
case  occurring,  they  might  avoid  acting  in  opposition  to  each 
other.  There  is  in  this  neither  plan  of  partition  nor  a  con¬ 
vention  to  be  binding  on  the  other  courts.  It  is  merely  an 
interchange  of  opinions,  and  the  Emperor  sees  no  necessity  of 
talking  about  it  before  the  time.  It  is  precisely  for  this  reason 
that  he  took  especial  care  not  to  make  it  the  object  of  an 
official  communication  from  one  cabinet  to  the  other,  being 
desirous  that  the  result,  whatsoever  it  might  be,  of  these 
communications  should  remain  a  secret  between  the  two  sov- 


96 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  IV. 


ereigns.  Consequently,  there  is  an  end  to  the  objections 
which  Lord  John  Russell  raises  to  any  concealment  as  re¬ 
gards  the  other  powers,  in  the  event  of  a  formal  agreement 
being  avowed,  —  of  which,  at  present,  there  is  no  question. 

“  In  short,  the  Emperor  cannot  but  congratulate  himself 
upon  having  given  occasion  for  this  intimate  interchange  of 
confidential  communications  between  her  Majesty  and  him¬ 
self.  The  two  sovereigns  have  frankly  explained  to  each 
other  what,  in  the  extreme  hypothesis  of  which  they  have 
been  treating,  their  respective  interests  cannot  tolerate. 
England  understands  that  Russia  will  not  suffer  the  estab¬ 
lishment  at  Constantinople  of  a  Christian  power  strong 
enough  to  control  and  trouble  it.  She  declares  that,  for 
herself,  she  renounces  any  intention  or  desire  to  possess  Con¬ 
stantinople.  The  Emperor  equally  disclaims  any  wish  or 
design  of  establishing  himself  there.  England  promises  that 
she  will  enter  into  no  arrangement  for  determining  the 
measures  to  be  taken,  in  the  event  of  the  fall  of  the  Turkish 
Empire,  without  a  previous  understanding  with  the  Emperor. 
The  Emperor,  on  his  side,  willingly  binds  himself  to  the 
same  engagement.”  This  document,  thus  worded,  would 
have  seemed  sufficiently  reassuring  and  satisfactory  to  Sir 
Hamilton,  if  he  had  not  remembered  the  more  significant 
remarks  of  the  Tsar,  and  if,  besides  the  engagement  agreed 
upon  by  Russia  not  to  establish  itself  at  Constantinople,  he 
had  found  a  formal  guarantee  or  protest  against  the  idea  of 
even  a  temporary  occupation. 

Just  at  this  juncture,  on  the  twenty-first  of  February,  Earl 
Clarendon  took  possession  of  the  Foreign  Office  at  London. 
His  attitude  and  language  corresponded  perfectly  with  Lord 
John  Russell’s;  a  like  approval  of  Sir  George  H.  Seymour’s 
judgment  and  discretion  in  his  interviews  with  the  Tsar,  a 
like  opinion  as  to  the  necessity  of  preserving  in  Europe  the 
balance  of  power  and  general  peace  by  the  maintenance  of 
the  Ottoman  Empire.  On  the  twenty-third  of  March  Earl 


1853  - 1856.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


97 


Clarendon  wrote  to  Sir  Hamilton  Seymour  as  follows  :  “  Her 
Majesty’s  government  persevere  in  their  belief  that  Turkey 
still  possesses  the  elements  of  existence.  They  have  learned, 
with  sincere  satisfaction,  that  the  Emperor  considers  himself 
even  more  interested  than  England  in  preventing  a  catas¬ 
trophe  in  Turkey,  because  they  are  convinced  that  upon  the 
policy  pursued  by  his  Imperial  Majesty  towards  Turkey  will 
depend  the  hastening  or  the  indefinite  postponement  of  an 
event  which  every  power  in  Europe  is  concerned  in  averting. 
Her  Majesty’s  government  are  convinced  that  nothing  is  more 
calculated  to  precipitate  that  event  than  the  constant  predic¬ 
tion  of  its  being  near  at  hand ;  that  nothing  can  be  more  fatal 
to  the  vitality  of  Turkey  than  the  assumption  of  its  rapid 
and  inevitable  decay,  and  that,  if  the  opinion  of  the  Emperor 
that  the  days  of  the  Turkish  Empire  are  numbered  become  no¬ 
torious,  its  downfall  must  occur  even  sooner  than  his  Impe¬ 
rial  Majesty  now  appears  to  expect.”  The  English  minister 
agreed  entirely  with  the  Tsar  that,  should  the  crisis  occur, 
the  occupation  of  Constantinople  by  either  of  the  great  powers 
was  incompatible  with  the  true  interests  of  Europe ;  that  a 
reconstruction  of  a  Byzantine  empire  was  impossible,  and  that 
the  systematic  misrule  of  Greece  precluded  an  increase  of  its 
dominion ;  but  his  language  in  regard  to  an  exclusive  under¬ 
standing  between  England  and  Russia  upon  sharing  the  rich 
spoils  of  Turkey  was  clear  and  to  the  point :  “  England  de¬ 
sires  no  territorial  aggrandizement,  and  could  be  no  party  to 
a  previous  arrangement  from  which  she  was  to  derive  any 
such  benefit.  England  could  be  no  party  to  any  under¬ 
standing,  however  general,  that  was  to  be  kept  secret  from 
the  other  powers.”  Lord  Clarendon  then  went  on  to  declare 
how  important  it  seemed  to  avert  any  catastrophe,  on  the 
ground  that  the  first  cannon-shot  would  be  “  the  signal  for 
a  state  of  things  more  disastrous  even  than  those  calamities 
which  war  inevitably  brings  in  its  train,”  and  asking  for 
Turkey  “that  friendly  support  which,  among  states  as  well 

VOL.  III.  7 


98 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  IY. 


as  among  individuals,  the  weak  have  a  right  to  expect  from 
the  strong.” 

When  Lord  Clarendon  wrote  this  remarkable  despatch  he 
had  not  as  yet  received  the  memorandum  dated  February 
twenty-first,  but  it  contained  so  complete  an  answer,  in  ad¬ 
vance,  that,  when  Count  Nesselrode’s  document  finally  reached 
him,  he  judged  that  it  was  unnecessary  to  write  a  special 
reply,  and  that  it  was  best  to  put  an  end,  as  quick  as  pos¬ 
sible,  to  these  singular  negotiations.  By  a  remarkable  coin¬ 
cidence,  Count  Nesselrode  was  equally  desirous  to  finish  the 
matter.  “  These  things,”  he  said  to  the  English  envoy,  with 
the  satisfaction  of  a  man  freed  from  a  great  responsibility,  — 
“  these  things  are  so  delicate  that  it  is  always  troublesome  to 
discuss  them  ” ;  and  as  a  finishing  stroke  to  the  discussion,  he 
gave  Sir  Hamilton,  on  the  fifteenth  of  April,  a  document 
which  agreed  in  the  main  with  the  English  opinions.  After 
expressing  his  satisfaction  at  the  result  of  the  discussion,  and 
expressing  some  doubt  whether  the  English  government  had 
been  correctly  informed  about  the  treatment  of  the  Christian 
subjects  of  the  Porte,  the  document  said :  “  The  Emperor  will 
readily  agree  that  the  best  means  of  upholding  the  Turkish 
government  is :  not  to  harass  it  by  overbearing  demands  sup¬ 
ported  in  a  manner  humiliating  to  its  independence  and  its 
dignity.  His  Majesty  is  disposed,  as  he  has  ever  been,  to  act 
upon  this  system,  with  the  clear  understanding,  however,  that 
the  same  rule  of  conduct  shall  be  observed,  without  distinction 
and  unanimously,  by  all  the  great  powers,  and  that  none  of 
them  shall  take  advantage  of  the  weakness  of  the  Porte  to 
obtain  from  it  concessions  which  might  turn  to  the  injury 
of  the  others.  This  principle  being  laid  down,  the  Emperor 
declares  that  he  is  ready  to  labor  in  concert  with  England 
to  prolong  the  existence  of  Turkey,  setting  aside  all  cause  of 
alarm  on  the  subject  of  its  dissolution.” 

The  Tsar,  however,  to  Count  Nesselrode’s  great  annoyance, 
was  not  inclined  to  allow  his  wise  councillor  the  honor  and 


1853-1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


99 


advantage  of  the  last  word.  Three  days  after  the  despatch  of 
this  memorandum  he  added  an  entirely  personal  epilogue. 
On  the  eighteenth  of  April,  Sir  Hamilton  Seymour  being  at 
dinner  at  the  palace,  the  Tsar  took  for  a  pretext  the  quarrel 
about  the  Holy  Shrines,  in  which  he  claimed  that  he  had  been 
personally  aggrieved  by  the  bad  faith  of  the  Sultan.  He 
finally  declared  that,  though  as  yet  he  had  not  moved  a  ship 
nor  a  battalion,  he  did  not  intend  to  be  trifled  with,  and, 
unless  the  Turks  yielded  to  reason,  they  would  be  brought  to 
yield  by  the  imminence  of  danger. 

Thus  terminated,  with  this  vague  and  threatening  avowal, 
the  strangest  series  of  negotiations  known  among  the  archives 
of  diplomacy.  The  secret  was  loyally  and  religiously  kept  by 
the  English  government  until  a  year  had  elapsed,  when  an 
imprudent  provocation  on  the  part  of  the  Russian  government 
led  to  the  public  being  initiated. 

In  reply  to  a  speech  made  in  the  House  of  Commons  by 
Lord  John-  Russell,  on  the  seventeenth  of  February,  eighteen 
hundred  and  fifty-four,  the  Imperial  chancelry  caused  to  be 
printed  in  the  Journal  of  Saint  Petersburg,  of  March  second, 
an  article  in  which  the  secret  negotiations  of  the  preceding 
year  were  divulged  and  brought  forward  as  proof  that  the 
Tsar  had  never  failed  in  frankness  toward  the  English  gov¬ 
ernment,  and  that  if  France  had  a  certain  justification  fori 
distrust,  England,  at  least,  had  none  at  all.  “  The  British 
government  ought  to  be  the  very  last  to  indulge  in  such  sus¬ 
picions,”  said  the  Russian  journal,  “  for  it  has  possession  of 
written  proof  that  they  rest  on  no  foundation.” 

In  consequence  of  this  sort  of  challenge,  the  Foreign  Office 
published  all  the  correspondence  which  had  passed  between 
the  two  cabinets,  and  which  showed  so  clearly  the  good  faith 
and  political  wisdom  of  England.  By  the  sudden  light  of 
this  startling  revelation  many  obscure  points  were  explained. 
The  year  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-three,  the  diplomatic  year 
par  excellence,  was  illuminated  to  its  most  secret  recesses. 


100 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  IV. 


The  motives  which  worked  upon  England  and  France,  at 
the  beginning  of  the  crisis,  were  laid  open.  England  was 
seen  to  be  far-seeing,  wise,  and  happily  preserved  from  the 
peril  of  temptations  and  false  confidences ;  France,  hesitating, 
wary,  at  once  distrustful  and  confiding,  under  the  influence 
of  a  sovereign  who  was  bound  to  woo  and  win. 


•0»«-  *■  ■»  ‘ 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  CRIMEAN  WAR 

1853  - 1855. 

Prince  Menshikof  at  Constantinople. — Lord  Stratford  de  Red- 
cliffe. — Colonel  Rose.  —  M.  Benedetti. —  The  French  Fleet 
at  Salamis.  —  Threatening  Demands  of  Prince  Menshikof. — 
Resistance  of  the  Porte.  —  The  Prince’s  Departure.  —  The 
French  and  English  Squadrons  at  Besika. —  Diplomatic  Con¬ 
flict.  —  Official  Mediation  of  Austria.  —  The  Russians  cross 
the  Pruth.  —  The  Vienna  Note.  —  Turkish  Modifications. — 
Warlike  Feelings.  —  Napoleon  the  Third.  —  Interviews  at 
Olmutz  and  Warsaw.  —  The  Porte  declares  War. 

WHILE  the  attempt  at  seduction  which  we  have  seen 
developed  behind  the  scenes  was  resulting  in  the  dis¬ 
comfiture  of  the  tempter,  a  brilliant  and  exciting  display  held 
the  attention  of  the  public  on  the  stage.  And  this  is  scarce¬ 
ly  a  metaphor ;  the  details,  the  theatrical  effects,  —  every¬ 
thing  was  calculated  to  insure  the  triumph  of  the  Russian 
policy  at  Constantinople,  as  though  it  were  a  drama.  In  the 
extraordinary  embassy  which  the  Tsar  sent  to  the  Sultan  all 
was  expressly  and  designedly  theatrical.  What  could  have 
been  more  so  than  the  very  choice  of  the  ambassador?  On 
the  fourth  of  February,  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-three, 
Count  Nesselrode  informed  Sir  Hamilton  Seymour  that  the 
Emperor  Nicholas  had  determined  to  send  to  Constantinople 
one  of  the  high  dignitaries  of  the  empire,  the  Minister  of  the 
Marine,  the  Governor  of  Finland,  Prince  Menshikof;  and 
four  days  later  the  Tsar’s  envoy  in  Paris  made  it  known  to 
the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  M.  Drouyn  de  Lhuys.  The 


102 


HISTORY  OR  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  V. 


choice  of  such  an  ambassador  was  alarming.  So  exalted  a 
personage  would  scarcely  put  himself  out  for  a  mere  trifle. 
Count  Nesselrode,  however,  took  pains  to  calm  the  appre¬ 
hensions  excited  by  the  excessive  disproportion  of  the  ne¬ 
gotiator  to  the  object  under  negotiation.  “  The  Princes 
instructions  are  rather  vague,  he  said,  on  the  ninth  of  Feb¬ 
ruary,  to  the  English  envoy,  for  it  is  difficult  to  determine 
how  far  the  rights  promised  to  the  Greeks  last  year  have  been 
violated.” 

On  the  tenth  of  February  the  Prince  left  Saint  Petersburg. 
While  Russian  officers  preceding  him  reached  Constantinople 
and  made  much  stir  about  the  mission  of  their  chief,  and 
while  the  Russian  legation,  at  the  instigation  of  the  others, 
caused  unusual  preparations  to  be  hastily  made,  the  Prince 
solemnly  reviewed  near  Odessa  the  troops  which  were  on 
their  way  to  join  the  forces  already  collected  in  Bessarabia ; 
then  he  paid  a  visit,  also  in  great  state,  to  the  Black  Sea  fleet 
anchored  in  the  harbor  of  Sevastopol.  Finally,  on  the  twenty- 
eighth  of  February,  the  steamboat  on  which  he  took  passage 
was  signalled  at  the  mouth  of  the  Bosphorus.  A  noisy  throng 
gathered  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Russian  legation  :  it  was  the 
Greek  population,  or  rather  the  populace,  of  Constantinople, 
who  saluted  with  their  shouts  of  welcome  the  promised  avenger 
of  the  orthodox  faith.  The  legation  had  exacted  from  the 
Porte  extraordinary  honors  for  the  reception  of  the  extraordi¬ 
nary  ambassador.  It  seemed  as  though  he  were  to  be  re¬ 
ceived  as  a  conqueror.  Iiis  entrance  was,  in  fact,  rather  that 
of  a  commander-in-chief  than  a  diplomat.  His  suite  was  a 
staff  on  which  men  of  eminence  served  :  Vice-Admiral  Kor- 
nilof,  Prince  Galitsuin,  Count  Dmitri  Nesselrode,  Imperial 
aides-de-camp  and  generals.  The  throng  of  military  and 
naval  officers  was  innumerable. 

In  accordance  with  the  customs  of  diplomacy,  it  should 
have  been  the  ambassador’s  first  duty  to  visit  the  Grand- 
Vizier  Mehemet  Ali  Pasha  and  the  reis-effendi  Fuad,  Minister 


1853-1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


103 


of  Foreign  Affairs  for  the  Ottoman  Empire.  On  the  second 
of  March  Prince  Menshikof  repaired,  it  is  true,  to  the  Porte, 
but  in  civilian’s  clothes,  not  in  full  dress.  If  anywhere  in  the 
world  diplomatic  etiquette  is  rigorously  observed,  it  is  at 
Constantinople.  The  ambassador’s  neglige  created  a  scandal : 
it  was  conserved  into  a  studied  contempt  of  the  simplest  for¬ 
malities.  But  this  disagreeable  surprise  was  small  compared 
to  that  which  the  Tsar’s  representative  reserved  for  the  coun¬ 
cillors  of  the  Sultan.  In  the  palace  known  officially  by  the 
name,  “  the  Sublime  Porte,”  the  reis-effendi’s  apartments 
were  next  those  of  the  Grand  Vizier.  In  both,  equally  mag¬ 
nificent  arrangements  had  been  made  to  receive  the  ambas¬ 
sador;  a  throng  of  officers  was  drawn  up  in  line  in  the 
ante-rooms ;  Fuad-Effendi’s  secretaries  were  waiting  at  the 
door,  ready  to  introduce  the  illustrious  visitor.  After  a  few 
moments’  conversation  the  Prince  leaves  the  Grand  Vizier, 
passes  by  the  apartments  of  the  reis-effendi,  turns  his  back 
upon  those  who  are  waiting  for  him,  crosses  the  vestibule, 
and  goes  out.  The  astonishment,  the  confusion  of  the  officers, 
beggars  description ;  they  do  not  know  what  to  believe ;  they 
do  not  dare  even  to  think  of  this  strange  proceeding.  Some 
indulge  in  the  hope  of  an  explanation,  but  no  one  ventures  to 
demand  it.  The  day  passes,  but  no  apology  or  excuse  appears. 
The  next  day  a  note  from  the  Prince  informs  the  Grand  Vizier 
that  the  ambassador  of  the  Tsar  had  no  intention  of  casting 
the  least  slur  on  the  Sultan’s  authority  by  his  action  the  even¬ 
ing  before,  but  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  treat  with  an 
untruthful  minister. 

There  was  no  question  about  it,  the  ambassador  of  the  Tsar 
had  intended  to  inflict  upon  Fuad-Effendi  a  public  and  an 
official  insult.  In  times  gone  by,  even  in  the  days  of  Mah¬ 
mud,  the  Turkish  government  would  have  resented  the  insult 
as  a  state  matter,  and  demanded  immediate  reparation,  in  de¬ 
fault  of  which  they  would  have  incarcerated  the  offender  in 
the  Seven  Towers,  and  declared  war.  But  Turkey  was  no 


104 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  V. 


longer  capable  of  such  a  bold  stroke.  Without  going  back 
to  the  great  Sultans  of  the  past,  there  was  no  comparison  to 
be  made  between  Mahmud  and  his  son,  Abdul-Medjid.  In 
face  of  the  immediate  and  mortal  danger  which  threatened  the 
Turkish  Empire,  Fuad-Effendi  sacrificed  his  fortune  to  the 
safety  of  his  prince  and  his  country.  He  resigned  his  office. 
Rifaat  Pasha  succeeded  him  in  the  direction  of  foreign  affairs. 
However  noble  or  politic  was  the  sacrifice  of  Euad,  the  crisis 
which  he  averted  was  only  postponed.  A  single  victim  was 
not  sufficient  to  satisfy  Prince  Menshikof :  by  his  first  blow  he 
had  made  a  breach  in  the  Turkish  government ;  he  expected  by 
the  second  to  bring  it  to  terms.  When  he  sent  the  Prince  to 
Constantinople  the  Emperor  Nicholas  made  choice  of  exactly 
the  right  time.  The  ambassador  of  the  Tsar  was  not  only 
assured  against  meeting  among  the  Sultan’s  ministers  an  adver¬ 
sary  of  his  stature,  but  not  a  person  of  equal  importance  and 
dignity  could  be  found  in  any  of  the  foreign  legations.  The 
English  and  French  embassies  at  this  time  were  both  deprived 
of  their  chiefs.  In  their  anxiety  to  remove  every  pretext  for 
the  complaints  of  Russia,  to  moderate  England’s  distrust,  and 
to  assure  Europe  by  the  moderation  of  their  attitude  regarding 
the  Eastern  question,  the  government  of  the  Emperor  Napo¬ 
leon  the  Third  had  recalled  from  Constantinople  the  Marquis 
de  Lavalette,  who  was  somewhat  compromised  by  the  extrava¬ 
gance  of  his  demands  in  the  matter  of  the  Holy  Places ;  and, 
while  M.  de  Lacour  was  appointed  his  successor,  pains  were 
taken  not  to  hasten  the  departure  of  the  new  ambassador. 
On  the  other  hand,  in  order  to  show  that  indifferent  neutrality 
at  Constantinople  which  it  was  proposed  to  sustain  in  regard 
to  the  quarrel  which  involved  France  and  Russia,  the  English 
government  authorized,  or  rather  invited,  Sir  Stratford  Can¬ 
ning,  the  Queen’s  envoy,  to  take  leave  of  absence  and  visit 
England.  For  more  than  twenty  years  this  able  diplomatist 
had  been  resident  minister  at  the  Turkish  Court,  and  during 
this  long  term  of  office  he  had,  by  the  clearness  of  his  under- 


1853-1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


105 


standing,  by  the  correctness  of  his  judgment,  and,  above  all, 
by  the  firmness  of  his  character,  gained  at  Constantinople,  as 
well  as  at  London,  an  incontestable  and  unequalled  authority. 
In  the  Queen’s  Cabinet  his  despatches  had  the  weight  of  law ; 
in  the  Sultan’s  Council  his  opinions  were  held  as  oracles.  It 
is  clear,  therefore,  how  such  a  rival  would  have  served  as  a 
check  upon  Prince  Menshikof ;  how  fortunate  it  was  for  him 
not  to  have  his  presence  to  contend  with,  and  how  melancholy 
it  was  for  the  Turkish  ministers  not  to  be  able  to  hide  behind 
his  powerful  protection.  Their  confusion  was  complete ;  a 
perfect  panic  deprived  them  of  their  senses.  England  and 
France  were  then  represented  by  charges  d’affaires ;  the  former 
by  M.  Benedetti,  the  latter  by  Colonel  Rose.  The  Grand 
Vizier  went  to  consult  both  of  them.  He  painted  in  vivid 
colors  the  danger  which  threatened  the  Turkish  Empire ;  he 
already  saw  the  fleet  of  Sevastopol  bearing  down  upon  the 
Golden  Horn.  He  demanded  the  immediate  summons  of  the 
French  and  English  squadrons,  at  least  as  near  as  the  waters 
of  Smyrna.  If  the  sudden  fall  of  Fuad-Effendi  had  been  only 
an  isolated  circumstance,  Colonel  Rose  would  not  have  proba¬ 
bly  been  much  concerned,  for  he  was  certainly  prepared  for  it; 
but  his  personal  observations  and  the  information  which  he 
gathered  caused  him  to  believe  that  the  fears  of  the  Divan 
were  not  without  foundation.  At  Constantinople,  the  attitude 
of  Prince  Menshikof  was  threatening  and  mysterious ;  on  the 
Danube,  the  movements  of  the  Russian  forces  were  threatening 
and  significant.  Colonel  Rose  wrote  to  his  government  on 
the  sixth  of  March  that  the  Russians  were  advancing  toward 
the  Turkish  territory,  instead  of  withdrawing  or  remaining 
where  they  were,  and  that  arrangements  were  being  made  in 
Moldavia  and  Valakhia  to  furnish  them  provisions,  while  as 
yet  no  declaration  had  been  sent  to  the  Porte  of  their  griev¬ 
ances.  Russia  “  is  making  other  great  military  and  naval 
preparations,  with  the  evident  intention  of  destroying  the 
independence  of  Turkey  or  of  making  war  upon  her.”  At 


106 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  Y. 


the  same  time  Colonel  Rose  took  the  responsibility  of  giving 
a  formal  invitation  to  Vice-Admiral  Dundas  to  bring  the 
English  squadron  as  soon  as  possible  from  the  roadstead  of 
Malta  to  the  Archipelago.  The  French  charge  d’affaires  felt  that 
he  was  not  authorized  to  make  the  same  appeal  to  the  French 
fleet ;  he  contented  himself  with  informing  his  government  in 
regard  to  all  the  circumstances  by  which  Colonel  Rose’s  deter¬ 
mination  had  been  influenced.  The  action  of  the  two  Cabi¬ 
nets  —  France  and  England  —  was  precisely  opposite  to  that 
of  their  respective  agents  at  Constantinople.  The  English 
Minister,  without  expressly  disavowing  Colonel  Rose,  coun¬ 
termanded  the  invitation  which  he  had  given  Admiral  Dundas, 
and  required  the  fleet  to  remain  at  Malta.  Sir  Stratford,  now 
Lord  Stratford  de  Redcliffe  was  hurried  off  to  his  post.  While 
the  French  government  likewise  sent  M.  de  Lacour  to  Con¬ 
stantinople,  it  commanded  the  Mediterranean  fleet,  which  was 
at  the  islands  of  ITieres,  to  sail  immediately  to  Salamis. 

The  difference  between  the  actions  of  France  and  England 
could  not  fail  to  give  rise  to  more  or  less  favorable  comments, 
which  was  the  very  thing  which  M.  Drouyn  de  Lhuys  wished 
to  guard  against.  “  The  important  thing,  in  my  opinion,”  he 
wrote,  on  the  sixth  of  March,  to  Count  Walewski,  the  French 
envoy  at  London,  “  is,  that  no  one  in  Europe  should  feel  au¬ 
thorized  to  think  that,  if  a  crisis  arose  at  Constantinople  capa¬ 
ble  of  compromising  the  existence  of  the  Ottoman  Empire, 
France  and  England  would  take  contrary  attitudes.  Nothing 
would  be  more  fatal  than  such  a  suspicion.”  M.  Drouyn  de 
Lhuys  was  not  far  wrong  in  feeling  anxiety  about  this  diver¬ 
gence  between  the  views  of  the  two  principal  naval  powers  of 
Europe.  It  had  been  noticed  at  Saint  Petersburg  and  turned 
to  account.  Among  the  most  interesting  documents  already 
produced  by  this  diplomatic  contest  is  the  despatch  addressed 
on  the  seventh  of  April  by  Count  Nesselrode  to  Baron  Brunof, 
the  Tsar’s  envoy  at  London.  “  It  is  very  agreeable  to  us,” 
said  the  Chancellor  of  the  Russian  Empire,  “  to  see  that  all 


1853-1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


107 


the  false  rumors  circulating  in  Constantinople  about  our  in¬ 
tentions  have  caused  no  alarm  or  apprehension  to  the  Cabinet 
of  London,  which  must  be  convinced  by  the  personal  assurances 
of  the  Emperor  that  his  Majesty  desires  and  intends  to  respect 
the  independence  and  integrity  of  the  Turkish  Empire,  and 
that  if  his  views  undergo  any  change  in  this  regard,  our 
august  master  would  be  the  first  to  inform  the  English  gov¬ 
ernment.  Be  kind  enough  to  assure  the  ministers  of  the 
Queen,  in  the  most  positive  terms,  that  the  Emperor’s  inten¬ 
tions  remain  unchanged,  and  that  all  the  vain  rumors  to 
which  the  arrival  of  Prince  Menshikof  in  the  Ottoman  capital 
has  given  rise,  the  occupation  of  the  principalities,  increase  of 
territory  on  our  Asiatic  frontiers,  the  claim  to  nominate  the 
patriarch  of  Constantinople,  the  threatening  and  hostile  lan¬ 
guage  used  by  our  ambassador  to  the  Porte,  are  not  only 
exaggerated  but  entirely  groundless ;  that,  in  a  word,  the 
mission  of  Prince  Menshikof  has  had  and  still  has  no  other 
aim  than  that  which  your 
to  communicate  to  the  British  government.  The  Emperor 
bids  you  take  particular  pains  to  thank  Lord  Aberdeen  and 
Lord  Clarendon,  in  his  name,  foi*  the  salutary  turn  which  they 
have  just  given  the  decisions  of  the  English  Cabinet.  By 
believing  our  assurances,  by  refusing  to  follow  the  example 
of  France  in  taking  a  measure,  if  not  hostile,  at  least  full  of 
distrust  of  us,  England  on  the  present  occasion  has  given 
proof  of  a  wise  policy.  Nothing  would  have  been  more  to 
be  regretted  than  to  see  the  two  maritime  powers  acting  in 
concert,  were  it  only  for  the  moment  and  in  appearance  rather 
than  in  reality,  upon  the  Eastern  question  as  it  now  is.  Al¬ 
though  their  views  upon  this  differ  absolutely,  yet,  as  the 
European  public  is  scarcely  capable  of  making  the  distinction, 
their  apparent  identity  must  necessarily  have  seemed  like  a 
close  alliance.  The  situation  of  all  Europe  would  have  been 
instantly  put  in  a  wrong  light.  The  simultaneous  appearance 
of  the  two  fleets  would  have  rendered  the  question  insoluble 


Excellency  has  been  commissioned 


108 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


fCHAP.  V. 


at  Constantinople.  Since  France  has  taken  this  step  alone, 
the  seriousness  of  it  is  largely,  though  not  entirely,  dimin¬ 
ished  ;  the  Emperor  does  not  take  much  notice  of  it,  and  sees 
no  reason,  as  yet,  for  changing  his  former  plans  and  purposes.” 

While  the  French  government,  feeling  more  alarmed  "by  the 
news  which  came  from  Constantinople,  and  having  kept  a 
more  watchful  eye  upon  the  movements  of  the  Russians  in 
Bessarabia,  foresaw,  after  the  twenty-second  of  March,  their 
entrance  into  the  Danubian  principalities,  and,  with  remark¬ 
able  sagacity,  gave  M.  de  Lacour  instructions  appropriate  to 
the  gravity  of  the  situation,  at  this  very  date  the  English 
minister,  trusting  the  solemn  assurances  which  were  abun¬ 
dantly  vouchsafed  to  him  at  Saint  Petersburg,  declared  to  the 
French  envoy  that  he  felt  bound  to  believe,  until  it  was  dis¬ 
proved,  that  Prince  Menshikof’s  mission  did  not  threaten  the 
independence  and  integrity  of  Turkey.  At  London,  however, 
the  commercial  and  financial  world  were  far  from  sharing  the 
thorough  confidence  felt  by  the  government.  The  wind  from 
Saint  Petersburg  was  ominous  for  war;  Constantinople  news 
grew  more  threatening  every  day. 

After  his  first  triumph  Prince  Menshikof  held  himself  a 
fortnight  in  such  reserve  as  was  calculated  to  excite  the  at¬ 
tention  of  the  public ;  paying  no  heed  to  legations  or  the 
seraglio,  he  remained  impenetrable.  At  last,  on  March  sev¬ 
enteenth,  the  ambassador  of  the  Tsar  determined  to  make  his 
official  visit  upon  Rifaat  Pasha.  The  sphynx  had  spoken ; 
the  first  of  his  demands  was  that  all  that  he  had  to  communi¬ 
cate  should  be  kept  as  an  absolute  secret,  and  the  others, 
judging  from  the  attitude  of  the  Turkish  ministers,  were  noth¬ 
ing  less  than  excessive.  Fear  gave  place  to  perfect  dismay. 
This  phase  of  terror  lasted  another  fortnight.  On  the  fifth 
of  April  Lord  Stratford  arrived  at  Constantinople,  and  a  few 
days  later,  M.  de  Lacour.  The  ministers  approached  them, 
especially  at  first,  as  though  they  were  protecting  spirits.  The 
constrained  silence  was  broken ;  tongues  were  loosed ;  the 


12-53  -1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


109 


whole  story  was  not  told,  but,  in  spite  of  reticence  and  half¬ 
avowals,  diplomatists  as  skilful  as  the  Trench  and  English 
ambassadors  were  not  slow  in  getting  at  the  truth.  It  was 
evident  that  the  affair  of  the  Holy  Places  was  not  the  only  nor 
even  the  principal  object  of  this  mysterious  negotiation.  The 
proof  was  soon  furnished.  After  the  arrival  of  M.  de  Lacour, 
Prince  Menshikof  consented  to  examine  with  him  the  details 
of  the  quarrel,  and  an  understanding  was  so  easily  and  so 
quickly  brought  about  that,  in  less  than  three  weeks,  a  diffi¬ 
culty  which  for  three  years  had  kept  European  diplomacy  on 
the  strain  was  definitely  settled  to  the  common  satisfaction  of 
Turkey,  Russia,  and  Prance.  Prom  the  fourth  of  May,  eigh¬ 
teen  hundred  and  fifty -three,  the  question  of  the  Holy  Places 
was  at  rest. 

It  was  thought  that  all  trouble  was  at  an  end ;  it  was 
only  the  beginning.  One  day,  when  Sir  Hamilton  Seymour 
asked  Count  Nesselrode  whether  there  would  be  any  cause 
of  misunderstanding  between  Turkey  and  Russia  if  once  the 
affair  of  the  Holy  Places  were  satisfactorily  settled,  the 
Chancellor  of  the  empire  replied :  “  Assuredly  not ;  there  will 
be  only  a  few  unimportant  business  details  to  regulate.” 
Business  details  !  Certainly  diplomacy  has  great  skill  in  the 
use  of  language,  but  this  euphemism  is  of  incomparable  value. 
After  he  had  used  his  full  quiver  of  threats  and  promises  to 
wrest  from  the  terrified  or  corrupted  ministers  of  the  Sultan 
an  appeal  to  the  all-powerful  and  generous  protection  of  the 
Tsar,  Prince  Menshikof,  hopeless  of  bringing  them  to  terms, 
found  himself  constrained  to  speak  more  frankly  than  he  had 
at  first  wished,  and  his  explanation  was  made  with  a  sort  of 
brutal  decisiveness  which  showed  clearly  his  deep  scorn.  In 
a  note  dated  the  nineteenth  of  April  he  said :  “  While  the 
Emperor  desires  to  forget  the  past  and  asks  as  reparation  only 
for  the  dismissal  of  an  untrustworthy  minister  and  the  prompt 
execution  of  solemn  promises,  he  feels  obliged  to  demand 
solid  guarantees  for  the  future.  He  desires  that  they  be  for- 


110 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  Y, 


mal,  positive,  and  calculated  to  assure  the  inviolability  of  the 
religion  professed  by  the  majority  of  the  Christian  subjects 
both  of  the  Sublime  Porte  and  of  Russia,  as  well  as  by  the 
Emperor  himself.  He  will  not  be  satisfied  unless  these  guar¬ 
antees  are  included  in  a  treaty,  or  an  act  equivalent  to  a  treaty, 
which  shall  secure  them  from  the  interpretations  of  an  ill- 
advised  and  unscrupulous  envoy.”  Thus  it  is  seen  that  Count 
Nesselrode  placed  carelessly  in  the  category  of  unimportant 
business  details  a  treaty  which  would  have  given  the  Tsar  the 
right  of  protecting  the  Christian  subjects  of  the  Sultan. 

Encouraged  by  the  presence  and  sustained  by  the  moral 
support  of  the  French  and  English  ambassadors,  Rifaat  Pasha 
now  gave  up  the  systems  of  temporization  behind  which  he  at 
first  sheltered  himself.  Prince  Menshikof,  also  weary  of  dila¬ 
tory  measures,  demanded  a  prompt  and  categorical  answer. 
On  the  fifth  of  May,  the  day  following  the  agreement  about 
the  Holy  Places,  the  Prince  submitted  to  the  rei's-effendi  a 
plan  for  a  sened,  or  convention,  together  with  a  note  which  left 
no  doubt  or  ambiguity  as  to  the  meaning  attached  to  this 
step  by  the  Tsar’s  representative.  While  inviolable  guarantees 
were  demanded  with  redoubled  urgency  under  the  form  of  a 
solemn  engagement  equivalent  to  a  treaty,  the  ambassador  in¬ 
sisted  upon  the  most  important  point  of  his  mission,  the  prin¬ 
cipal  object  of  the  Emperor’s  anxiety,  and  declared  that  if  on 
the  tenth  of  May,  five  days  from  date,  his  demands  were  not 
satisfied,  “  he  should  be  obliged  to  consider  a  longer  delay  as 
a  lack  of  respect  toward  his  government,  which  would  impose 
upon  him  the  most  painful  obligations.” 

Russia  dated  its  pretensions  from  the  treaty  of  Kainardji,  con¬ 
cluded  in  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy-four,  and  confirmed  in 
eighteen  hundred  and  twenty-nine  by  the  treaty  of  Adriano- 
ple.  If,  as  the  Tsar  affirmed,  these  ancient  stipulations  had 
implicitly  conferred  upon  him  the  rights  of  a  protector  over  the 
Sultan’s  Christian  subjects,  and  if,  as  he  at  the  same  time  pro¬ 
tested,  he  was  not  anxious  to  gain  a  wider  extension  to  these 


1853-1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


Ill 


pretended  rights,  what  was  the  meaning  of  Prince  Menshikof’s 
mission,  his  demands,  and  his  threats  ?  And  how,  above  all, 
could  he  justify  this  pressure,  brought  to  bear  upon  Turkey 
by  Russia  alone,  and  this  exclusive  claim  to  meddle  with  the 
internal  affairs  of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  when  the  treaty  of  July 
thirteenth,  eighteen  hundred  and  forty-one,  had  introduced  Tur¬ 
key  into  what  was  called  the  European  concert,  and  placed  the 
independence  and  integrity  of  the  Turkish  dominions  under  the 
collective  guarantee  of  the  five  great  powers  ?  Looking  at  it 
in  this  light,  Lord  Stratford  de  Redcliffe  wrote  an  official  and 
confidential  letter  to  Prince  Menshikof,  in  which  he  brought 
forward  arguments  designed  to  moderate  his  demands,  which 
threatened  virtually  to  transfer  from  the  weakest  to  the  strong¬ 
est  party,  powers  reserved  in  every  country  for  the  supreme 
authority  of  the  State.  “Such  an  extension  of  existing  treaties,” 
said  the  English  Envoy,  “  would  be  liable  to  be  regarded  else¬ 
where  as  an  innovation  entirely  disproportionate  to  the  special 
question  which  brought  about  your  embassy,  and  wThich  is  out 
of  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  legality  unanimously  sanctioned 
by  the  treaty  of  eighteen  hundred  and  forty-one.”  Nothing 
came  of  this ;  Prince  Menshikof  still  maintained  all  of  his  pre¬ 
tensions.  On  the  day  fixed  he  received  from  the  reis-effendi  a 
note  animated  by  the  kindest  feelings  for  the  Sultan’s  Chris¬ 
tian  subjects,  and  promising  to  preserve  their  privileges  in 
religious  matters.  “  As  to  concluding  with  Russia  a  treaty 
on  this  subject,  the  note  proceeded  to  say  the  Porte  could 
never  consent  to  it  without  compromising  the  fundamental 
principles  of  its  sovereignty  and  independence.  It  is  thus 
obliged  to  decline  the  proposition  made  by  the  Emperor  of 
Russia  to  enter  into  a  convention  which  would  fetter  it  in  this 
way.  The  Porte  trusts  to  the  public  opinion  of  the  whole 
world,  which  wrould  never  permit  this  violation  of  its  indepen¬ 
dence  and  national  rights,  and  appeals  to  the  justice  and  fair¬ 
ness  of  the  Emperor  himself.” 

Although  Prince  Menshikof  put  the  form  of  an  ultimatum 


112 


HISTORY  OR  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  Y. 


upon  his  last  communication,  the  declaration  of  a  rupture 
which  the  Grand  Vizier  expected  was  forestalled  by  a  request 
for  an  interview.  The  meeting  was  arranged  for  the  thirteenth 
of  May ;  great  preparations  were  made  at  the  Porte,  as  was  the 
case  on  the  second  of  March.  When  the  hour  passed  a 
strange  rumor  disturbed  the  Grand  Vizier  and  the  re'is-effendi, 
who  were  already  surprised  at  the  delay.  The  envoy  of  the 
Tsar  did  not  go  to  the  Porte  at  all,  but  went  straight  to  the 
Palace  of  Sheragan,  to  the  Sultan  himself,  whom  he  knew  to 
be  overwhelmed  with  trouble  and  affliction,  for  he  had  just 
lost  his  mother.  The  impropriety  of  the  step  was  punished 
by  the  humiliation  which  diplomatic  etiquette  administered. 
Not  only  was  he  not  received,  but  by  the  Sultan’s  express 
orders  he  was  referred  to  the  ministers.  The  ministers,  on 
their  side,  felt  that  they  could  no  longer  treat  with  him  and 
retain  their  dignity.  The  insult  of  May  thirteenth  necessarily 
carried  with  it  similar  consequences  to  that  of  March  second. 
Mehemet  Ali  and  Rifaat  Pasha  followed  Fuad-Effendi’s  exam¬ 
ple,  and  resigned.  Mehemet  Ali  resumed  the  office  of  Seras- 
kier,  or  Minister  of  War.  Reshid  Pasha  took  the  direction  of 
Foreign  Affairs ;  with  this  new  minister,  more  docile,  as  it 
was  believed,  to  Russian  influence,  Prince  Menshikof  affected 
the  most  conciliating  humor  :  he  demanded  neither  treaty  nor 
sened ;  he  wanted  a  simple  note  which,  though  indeed  dictated 
by  himself,  was  to  be  copied,  adopted,  and  signed  by  Reshid 
Pasha,  and  serve  as  the  personal  and  official  answer  of  the  re'is- 
effendi  to  the  ambassador  of  the  Tsar.  What  could  be  more 
simple  !  It  proved,  however,  that  the  concession  of  the  Prince 
was  only  apparent,  and  that  under  a  new  form  the  matter  was 
unchanged.  Treaty,  sened,  or  note,  what  he  wished  to  conquer 
in  open  battle  or  gain  by  surprise  was  a  genuine  engagement, 
an  onerous  contract  subscribed  to  by  the  Sultan  for  the  Tsar’s 
advantage.  In  spite  of  these  manoeuvres,  Reshid  Pasha  was 
not  deceived ;  like  Fuad  and  Rifaat,  he  refused  to  put  his  name 
to  the  moral  ruin  of  the  Turkish  government. 


1853-  1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


113 


The  Prince,  who  had  already  retired  with  the  full  Russian 
legation  to  Buyukdere,  addressed  a  note  to  Reshid  on  the 
eighteenth  of  May,  in  which  he  declared  that  his  mission  was 
ended,  and  that  diplomatic  relations  between  the  Russian  and 
Turkish  empires  were  broken.  Three  days  later  the  ambas¬ 
sador  of  the  Tsar,  worsted  in  the  conflict,  re-entered  the  Black 
Sea  on  the  same  ship  from  which  three  months  before  he  had 
triumphantly  disembarked  at  Constantinople.  He  now  would 
carry  back  to  Russia  anger  at  his  defeat,  and  demand  ven¬ 
geance. 

The  ultimatum  of  May  fifth,  known  and  published  at  Lon¬ 
don  on  the  twentieth,  had  the  effect  of  a  thunder-bolt.  Until 
this  time  public  opinion  had  hesitated,  hovering  between  the 
vague  alarms  which  came  from  Constantinople  and  the  confi¬ 
dent  declarations  of  the  ministers ;  its  force  was  now  resistless. 
As  for  the  cabinet,  surprised  in  its  optimistic  dreams,  dazed 
by  this  rude  awakening,  it  was  compelled  instantly  to  change 
its  language  and  its  course.  Instead  of  a  petty  squabble,  as 
it  was  disdainfully  called  the  evening  before,  they  were  obliged 
to  recognize  the  danger  of  a  catastrophe  impending  over  the 
Turkish  Empire ;  instead  of  indulging  in  jealousy  or  raillery 
of  France,  they  were  obliged  to  confess  that  France  alone  had 
had  its  eyes  open  and  been  on  the  watch.  In  a  few  days  efforts 
were  made  to  redeem  the  lost  time ;  on  the  twenty-eighth  of 
May  Lord  Clarendon  in  the  House  of  Lords,  and  Lord  John 
Russell  in  the  House  of  Commons,  declared  that  the  government 
was  resolved  to  lend  a  helping  hand  to  Turkey  in  case  of  need, 
and  a  despatch  to  Lord  Stratford  de  Redcliffe  on  June  first 
placed  at  his  disposal  the  fleet  stationed  at  Malta.  Neverthe¬ 
less,  a  few  of  the  ministers,  Lord  Aberdeen  especially,  retained 
at  heart  a  trust  in  the  word  of  the  Tsar,  as  it  were  a  relic 
of  long-enduring  confidence  ;  they  preferred  to  believe  that 
Prince  Menshikof  had  exceeded  his  authority,  and  they  did 
not  despair  of  seeing  him  disavowed.  These  loyal  hearts  again 
reckoned  without  their  host ;  a  telegram  from  Saint  Peters- 

YOL.  III. 


114 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  V. 


burg  dissipated  their  last  illusion.  Not  only  was  Prince 
Menshikof’ s  conduct  fully  approved  by  the  Tsar,  but  his  threats 
were  promptly  followed  by  the  sanction  of  action.  “  In  a  few 
weeks,”  Count  Nesselrode  wrote  to  Reshid  Pasha,  “the  Rus¬ 
sian  troops  will  receive  the  order  to  cross  the  boundaries  of  the 
empire,  not  for  the  purpose  of  making  war,  but  in  order  to 
obtain  material  guarantees  until  such  time  as  the  Ottoman 
government,  coming  to  more  equitable  sentiments,  shall  give 
Russia  the  moral  sureties  demanded  in  vain  for  two  years  by 
its  representatives  in  Constantinople,  and  lastly  by  its  ambas¬ 
sador.  The  draught  of  a  note  which  Prince  Menshikof  has 
sent  you  is  in  your  hands.  Will  your  Excellency  without 
delay,  having  obtained  the  consent  of  his  Highness,  the  Sul¬ 
tan,  sign  this  note  without  variations,  and  send  it  to  our  am¬ 
bassador,  who  is  still  at  Odessa  ?  ”  This  letter  was  dated 
the  thirty-first  of  May :  the  telegram  which  brought  the  news 
came  on  the  first  day  of  June ;  on  the  second  the  English 
government,  in  perfect  accord  with  Prance,  gave  orders  directly 
to  Vice-Admiral  Dundas  to  set  sail  without  awaiting  Lord 
Stratford’s  summons  to  join  the  Erench  fleet  and  co-operate 
with  it.  On  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  the  Erench  and 
English  flags,  the  one  coming  from  Malta,  the  other  from 
Salamis,  floated  above  Turkish  waters  in  the  anchorage  of 
Besika,  between  Tenedos  and  the  coast  of  Asia,  at  the  entrance 
of  the  Dardanelles. 

This  understanding  between  Erance  and  England,  which 
the  Tsar  had  never  believed  possible,  was  not  the  first  nor 
perhaps  the  bitterest  of  his  miscalculations :  Russia  saw  Aus¬ 
tria  and  Prussia  fall  away,  —  Prussia  an  old  family  alliance, 
Austria  a  client  just  rescued  from  the  perils  of  the  Hungarian 
insurrection.  Neither  Prince  Menshikof  at  Constantinople, 
nor  the  Tsar  at  Saint  Petersburg,  nor  his  envoys  at  Berlin  and 
Vienna,  had  found  among  the  representatives  or  ministers  of 
those  two  powers  that  support  upon  which  Russian  policy 
had  a  right,  or  supposed  it  had  a  right,  to  depend.  On  the 


1853  -1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


115 


contrary,  in  forms  more  or  less  cautious,  the  disavowal  was 
universal.  During  the  month  of  April  Count  Buol,  the  head 
of  the  Austrian  ministry,  said  to  the  Drench  ambassador,  M.  de 
Bourqueney,  that  it  was  not  the  province  of  one  nor  of  two 
cabinets  privately  to  regulate  affairs  in  which  all  Europe  was 
interested,  and  which,  in  a  word,  ought  to  be  treated  by  the 
five  great  powers.  It  was  precisely  this  community  of  Euro¬ 
pean  interests  which  was  the  idea  happily  chosen  and  carried 
out  by  Erench  policy.  Eor  diplomats  formed  by  the  school 
of  the  First  Empire,  full  of  memories  of  eighteen  hundred 
and  fifteen,  what  a  surprising  spectacle  !  They  saw  the  heir 
of  Napoleon  using  as  an  argument  against  Russia  the  obligation 
of  treaties,  and  calling  upon  all  Europe  to  maintain  the  equi¬ 
librium,  and  the  heir  of  Alexander  threatening  the  established 
order  of  things  and  aiming  a  mortal  blow  at  the  Holy  Alliance. 
It  was  also  an  extraordinary  novelty  for  the  diplomatists  of 
the  old  school,  nourished  in  the  tradition  of  silence  and  mys¬ 
tery,  to  see  despatches,  notes,  and  circulars,  almost  before  they 
had  gone  the  round  of  the  cabinets,  printed  and  published 
to  all  the  world.  It  continued  to  be  a  war  of  chicanery,  but  in 
open  daylight,  and  no  longer  in  secret.  Between  Russia  and 
its  adversaries  a  power  entirely  modern  but  mighty,  the  power 
of  public  opinion,  was  called  in  as  a  judge  and  mediator.  On 
both  sides  the  weight  of  its  influence  was  invoked  as  the  law 
of  a  sovereign  magistrate.  In  this  great  suit  France  had  elo¬ 
quent  and  able  advocates.  Inspired  by  M.  Drouyn  de  Lhuys, 
and  secondarily  by  M.  Thouvenel,  French  diplomacy  was  en¬ 
abled  to  speak  in  a  lofty,  decided,  and  moderate  tone,  with¬ 
out  boast  or  bravado,  with  success  the  more  glorious  because 
it  was  won  in  contest  with  a  stronger  party.  In  controversy, 
as  well  as  on  the  field  of  battle,  Russia  was  always  a  terrible 
champion. 

Count  Nesselrode  began  the  public  discussion.  A  circular, 
addressed  on  the  eleventh  of  June  by  the  Chancellor  of  the 
empire  to  the  representatives  of  Russia  abroad,  was  printed  in 


116 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  V. 


the  “  Journal  of  Saint  Petersburg.”  The  principal  aim  of  this 
argument  was  to  prove  that  Prince  Menshikof  confined  himself 
strictly  to  the  limits  of  his  mission  after  the  affair  of  the  Holy 
Places  had  been  settled,  in  demanding  of  the  Turkish  govern¬ 
ment  guarantees  implicitly  contained  in  the  treaties  of  Ka'i- 
nardji  and  Adrianople,  and  that  he  had  asked  nothing  unusual 
or  new,  nothing  indeed  which  exceeded  the  right  which  every 
state  naturally  possesses,  of  treating  its  private  wrongs  or  in¬ 
terests  with  another.  It  was  this  claim  to  deprive  the  other 
powers  of  the  examination  of  this  question,  which  none  of  the 
great  European  cabinets  could  admit.  Said  M.  Drouyn  de 
Lhuys  to  Kisselef,  the  Russian  envoy  :  “  If  you  believe  that  the 
Porte  is  mistaken,  if  you  think  your  claims  are  legitimate  while 
the  Porte  finds  them  inadmissible,  allow  me  to  say  that  there  ex¬ 
ists  a  tribunal  on  purpose  to  settle  the  difficulty.  A  conference 
between  the  five  powers  took  part  in  the  treaty  of  eighteen 
hundred  and  forty-one.  They  can  now  determine  whether  the 
Divan  does  not  exaggerate  the  importance  of  your  demands, 
or  whether  you  yourselves  do  not  mistake  their  actual  force.” 

England  and  France  alike  desired  to  unite  the  signers  of 
the  treaty  of  eighteen  hundred  and  forty-one  in  the  present 
interests  of  conciliation  and  peace.  On  principle,  Austria  was 
at  one  with  them,  but  in  reality  the  Emperor  Francis  Joseph 
had  in  mind  to  spare  the  dignity  of  Russia  and  the  Tsar's 
pride.  As  he  favored  the  idea  of  a  direct  transaction  between 
the  Porte  and  his  formidable  neighbor,  he  took  pains  to  address 
himself  with  a  mixture  of  tenderness  and  deference  to  the  affec¬ 
tionate  impulses  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas,  and  he  commissioned 
one  of  his  private  aides-de-camp,  Count  Gyulai,  to  carry  his 
letter  to  Saint  Petersburg.  On  the  twenty-fourth  of  June  the 
Tsar  received  the  touching  appeal  which  a  sentiment  of  grati¬ 
tude  had  dictated  to  the  young  sovereign  of  Austria,  but  lately 
almost  his  ward.  He  answered  it  indirectly  and  unfortu¬ 
nately,  two  days  afterwards,  by  an  appeal  to  the  faith  of  the 
Russian  people.  The  occupation  of  the  Principalities  was 


1853-  1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


117 


ordered ;  but  in  case  that  were  not  sufficient  to  overcome  the 
obstinacy  of  the  Turks,  then,  the  manifesto  went  on  to  say, 
“  invoking  God  to  aid  us,  we  will  leave  to  his  care  to  decide 
our  difference,  and,  placing  our  full  hope  in  his  all-powerful 
hand,  we  will  march  to  the  defence  of  the  orthodox  faith.” 

On  the  third  of  July  the  Russian  columns  crossed  the 
Pruth ;  three  days  afterwards  Prince  Gortchakof  entered 
Bukarest.  At  the  same  time  Count  Nesselrode  issued  a  second 
explanatory  circular,  much  less  for  the  convenience  of  his 
diplomatic  agents  than  for  the  use  of  the  European  public. 
The  cleverness  of  this  consisted  in  its  putting  the  occupation 
of  the  Principalities  as  a  reply  to  the  movement  of  the  com¬ 
bined  squadrons  of  Prance  and  England,  a  military  position 
compensating  for  the  maritime  occupation ;  in  a  word,  as  a 
simple  question  of  maintaining  the  balance.  M.  Drouyn  de 
Lhuys  had  already  answered  the  circular  of  June  eleventh. 
It  was  not  then  difficult  for  him  to  prove  that  this  famous 
treaty  of  Kainardji,  so  often  invoked  by  the  Russians,  had 

never  contained  all  that  they  would  be  glad  to  find  in  it. 

It  was  just  as  easy  for  him  now  to  refute  the  new  circular  of 
July  second.  If  there  had  ever  been  any  analogy  between 
the  respective  situations,  any  equilibrium  between  the  Russian 
forces  on  one  side  and  the  united  squadrons  on  the  other, 
it  was  at  the  time  when  the  latter  were  anchored  at  Besika, 
and  the  former  were  watching  the  left  bank  of  the  Pruth ; 
but  since  the  Russians  had  entered  the  Turkish  territorv 

while  the  fleet  had  not  moved  from  its  anchorage,  it  was 

presuming  too  much  upon  the  good  nature  of  the  public  to 
speak  of  maintaining  the  equilibrium,  of  reversing  the  roles 
and  imputing  to  the  others  the  initiation  of  threatening 
demonstrations.  It  was  sufficient  to  array  facts  and  dates 
against  the  ingenious  subtleties  of  Count  Nesselrode.  The 
invasion  of  the  Principalities,  though  effected  on  the  third  of 
July,  had  been  announced  by  the  Chancellor  himself  more 
than  a  month  before,  and  it  was  only  on  the  thirteenth  of 


118 


HISTORY  OP  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  V. 


June  that  the  fleets  began  to  show  themselves  in  the  Turkish 
waters.  The  rash  statements  made  by  the  Russian  govern¬ 
ment,  and  criticised  by  M.  Drouyn  de  Lhuys,  met  with  the 
same  treatment  at  the  hand  of  Lord  Clarendon ;  but  the 
French  circular  was  given  to  the  public,  while  Lord  Claren¬ 
don  was  satisfied  with  announcing  to  the  House  of  Lords, 
amid  great  applause,  that  England’s  answer  was  in  complete 
conformity  with  the  note  published  by  the  French  govern¬ 
ment,  and  that  all  the  measures  taken  in  so  important  a  crisis 
were  likewise  in  accord. 

The  question  whether  the  occupation  of  the  Principalities 
was  a  warlike  deed,  justifying  Turkey  in  the  use  of  violence 
to  repel  violence,  would  be  answered  in  the  affirmative  even 
if  only  international  law  and  the  acts  which  regulated  the 
peculiar  condition  of  the  Principalities  were  consulted.  It  is 
safe  to  say  that  this  was  the  general  opinion  in  Europe,  it 
was  certainly  the  opinion  of  the  French  government ;  but  in 
the  English  cabinet  Lord  Aberdeen  and  a  few  of  his  colleagues 
refused  to  consider  the  crossing  of  the  Pruth  as  an  event 
likely  to  lead  to  such  weighty  consequences.  They  advised 
patience  at  Paris,  and  hoped  that  the  French  government 
would  join  in  advising  it  at  Constantinople.  France  yielded ; 
Turkey  protested  for  form’s  sake,  and  diplomacy  renewed  its 
efforts  at  reconciliation.  On  the  part  of  Austria,  they  had 
never  ceased,  nor  had  Russia  formally  declined  its  good 
offices.  Things  had  not  gone  too  far.  The  French  ambas¬ 
sador  at  Saint  Petersburg,  long  neglected,  now  found  himself 
received  with  unwonted  favor,  and  the  opposite  happened  to 
the  English  minister;  the  Tsar’s  coldness  seemed  to  have 
been  transferred  from  General  de  Castelbajac  to  Sir  Hamilton 
Seymour.  During  the  early  days  of  June  the  Tsar  charged 
the  General  to  transmit  directly  to  Napoleon  the  most  friendly 
expression  of  his  sentiments  and  an  invitation  for  a  personal 
negotiation.  Touched  by  these  advances,  the  Emperor,  Napo¬ 
leon  the  Third,  was  easily  persuaded  to  send  a  favorable  reply; 


1853-1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


119 


but  he  did  so  warily,  without  imprudently  isolating  himself  and 
separating  from  England.  The  draught  of  a  note  written  by 
him,  which  was  sent  to  London  on  June  twenty-seventh,  and 
approved,  had  been  transmitted  to  General  de  Castelbajac, 
with  instructions  to  place  it  in  the  hands  of  the  Emperor 
Nicholas.  At  the  same  time,  as  it  was  important  to  keep  on 
good  terms  with  the  Austrian  Emperor,  whose  mediation  the 
Tsar  had  just  accepted,  and  who  was  exercising  his  ingenuity 
to  form  a  basis  of  agreement,  the  draught  was  sent  to  Vienna, 
where  it  was  received  with  favor;  and  Prussia  also  being 
invited  to  examine  it,  a  sort  of  conference  was  naturally 
established  between  the  four  powers  which,  twelve  years 
before,  participated  with  Russia  and  the  Porte  in  the  trans¬ 
actions  of  eighteen  hundred  and  forty-one.  Austria  was 
represented  by  Count  Buol-Schauenstein,  Prance  by  Baron  de 
Bourqueney,  England  by  Lord  Westmoreland,  and  Prussia  by 
Herr  von  Canitz. 

In  reply  to  Russia’s  first  threats  and  claims  to  interfere 
with  the  internal  affairs  of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  England 
advised  the  Turkish  government  to  furnish  a  solemn  and  pub¬ 
lic  confirmation  of  the  rights  of  their  Christian  subjects 
granted  or  acknowledged  by  the  Sultans.  In  this  spirit 
Reshid  Pasha  had  endeavored  to  answer  the  note  presented 
by  Prince  Menshikof.  The  draught  sent  by  the  Emperor 
Napoleon  to  Vienna  was  a  compromise  between  the  Prince’s 
plan  and  the  reis-effendi’s  counter-plan.  During  the  entire 
month  of  July  the  conference  gave  it  the  most  careful  and 
minute  examination ;  modifications  were  proposed,  —  some 
offered  by  Austria  more  favorable  to  Russia,  others  by  Eng¬ 
land  more  favorable  to  the  Porte.  At  last  the  text,  amended, 
corrected,  reread,  revised,  and  final,  was  unanimously  adopted 
on  the  thirty -first  of  July.  The  Emperor  Nicholas,  to  whom 
it  had  been  communicated  beforehand,  sent  a  telegram  on  the 
third  of  August,  declaring  that  he  accepted  the  expedient 
devised  at  Vienna  on  condition  that  the  Porte  should  make 
absolutely  no  observation  ™  in  it. 


120 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  Y. 


The  Tsar  accepted ;  that  was  great  news.  It  was  a  triumph 
of  diplomacy ;  trade  revived ;  a  general  increase  of  prices  ob¬ 
tained  ;  the  congratulation  was  universal.  Napoleon  the  Third, 
on  the  fifteenth  of  August,  congratulated  himself,  in  presence 
of  the  diplomatic  corps,  that  the  peace  of  Europe  had  been 
preserved,  and  on  the  twentieth  the  Queen’s  ministers  gave 
Parliament  reason  to  hope  for  the  prompt  conclusion  of  an 
honorable  adjustment. 

At  Constantinople,  however,  the  preparations  for  an  armed 
resistance  had  not  ceased  for  two  months;  the  men  of  the 
redif  \  or  reserve,  were  brought  into  activity,  the  regular  lists 
of  the  nizam  were  filled  to  the  full  war  quota,  the  Egyptian 
contingents  were  momentarily  expected.  These  martial  sights 
and  announcements  could  not  fail  gradually  to  excite  the 
passions  of  the  Mussulmans.  They  were  at  a  boiling  point 
when,  on  the  ninth  of  August,  the  Vienna  note  was  dropped 
into  the  midst  of  the  excitement.  Two  days  later  the  quick 
consent  given  by  the  Tsar  was  known.  After  so  many  traps 
and  toils  had  been  brought  to  light,  how  was  it  possible  not 
to  suspect  new  snares  ?  The  Divan,  at  its  first  session,  rejected 
the  note ;  then,  at  the  instance  of  Reshid  Pasha,  it  was  taken 
up  again,  examined,  explained,  and  finally  accepted  in  all  but 
three  passages,  which  allowed  an  interpretation  unfavorable  to 
the  rights  of  the  Sultan.  The  changes  suggested  by  the  Divan, 
and  put  in  the  form  of  a  memorandum,  were  communicated 
to  the  representatives  of  the  four  powers  on  the  twentieth  of 
August.  It  was  a  great  surprise.  The  angry  disapproval 
of  this  step  was  universal.  These  Turks  had  the  arrogance 
to  carry  their  remonstrances  to  the  bar  of  Europe,  and  when 
Europe  lent  them  a  helping  hand,  with  unparalleled  infatua¬ 
tion  they  insolently  brought  upon  themselves  the  catastrophes 
they  would  avoid.  How  willingly  they  would  have  abandoned 
them  to  their  foolish  pride,  if  the  equilibrium  of  the  world 
had  not  been  fatally  involved  in  their  wretched  existence. 
At  Vienna  the  conference,  in  ill  humor,  set  themselves  again 


1853-1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


121 


to  their  work,  the  careful,  irksome,  trying  work  of  compar¬ 
ing  texts  almost  impalpably  dissimilar.  They  sifted  words, 
weighed  syllables,  discussed  periods  and  commas ;  gramma¬ 
rians  would  not  have  made  more  stock  out  of  it.  Then,  when 
the  whole  had  been  examined  and  proved  by  the  microscope, 
they  came  to  the  common  conclusion  that  the  Turks  had  not 
the  political  sense,  that  their  claims  were  impertinent,  their 
fears  ridiculous,  and  their  corrections  valueless. 

While  the  four  powers  brought  all  weight  to  bear  upon  the 
Turks  to  make  them  yield,  Austria  used  its  influence  with  the 
Tsar  in  order  to  obtain  his  contemptuous  assent  to  a  few  insig¬ 
nificant  changes ;  but  as  he  had  declared  beforehand  that  he 
would  accept  no  change,  it  was  impossible  to  persuade  him  to 
go  back  upon  his  word.  Then  still  stronger  efforts  were  made 
in  Constantinople ;  the  French  government,  which  had  the  best 
right  to  claim  the  paternity  of  the  Vienna  note,  was  no  less 
urgent  than  Austria  and  Prussia.  From  London  also  Lord 
Clarendon  used  equal  insistance ;  but  Lord  Stratford  de  Red- 
cliffe,  on  the  spot,  did  not  seem  inclined  to  add  the  considerable 
weight  of  his  own  authority  and  personal  influence  to  his 
official  action.  The  reserve  of  this  famous  diplomat,  however 
it  may  be  explained,  was  the  only  and  very  feeble  encourage¬ 
ment  which  the  Porte  found  in  its  resistance ;  but  as  every¬ 
thing  was  destined  to  proceed  by  theatrical  surprises  in  this 
strange  episode,  —  perhaps  the  strangest  in  the  history  of  diplo¬ 
macy, —  safety  came  to  Turkey  from  a  most  unexpected  quarter. 
In  a  very  dignified  and  faultless  note,  dated  September  the 
seventh,  Count  Nesselrode  informed  the  four  powers  that,  as 
the  Emperor  of  Russia  on  his  part  had  renounced  the  right  of 
changing  a  single  word  in  a  draught  of  the  ultimatum  made 
by  them,  he  could  not  admit  nor  recognize  as  legitimate  the 
exercise  of  the  same  right  by  the  Porte.  “  Either  the  altera¬ 
tions  which  the  Porte  requires  are  important,  in  which  case  it 
is  plain  that  we  must  refuse  to  accede  to  them ;  or  they  are 
unimportant,  and  then  the  question  arises,  Why  should  the 


122 


HISTORY  OR  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  V. 


Porte  unnecessarily  make  its  acceptance  dependent  on  them  ?  ” 
What  answer  could  be  found  for  this  ?  Europe  acquiesced, 
and  Turkey  was  evidently  lost,  when,  a  few  days  after  the 
despatch  of  this  note,  which  seemed  to  leave  nothing  to  be 
said,  there  appeared  in  a  Berlin  newspaper  a  circular  addressed 
by  Count  Nesselrode  to  the  Russian  agents  in  the  foreign 
courts.  This  document,  the  publication  of  which  was  no  less 
astonishing  than  the  audacity  of  its  dangerous  admissions, 
was  entitled,  “  An  Examination  of  the  Modifications  intro¬ 
duced  by  the  Ottoman  Porte  into  the  Austrian  Note.”  This 
commentary  went  to  show  that  the  changes  insisted  upon  by 
the  Divan  were  of  the  greatest  importance,  and  that,  if  Russia 
had  accepted  the  Vienna  note  without  variation,  it  was  because 
it  contained  an  equivalent  to  all  that  Prince  Menshikof’s  ulti¬ 
matum  had  demanded. 

Thus  for  three  months  European  diplomacy  exhausted  its 
ingenuity  for  the  Tsar’s  greatest  gratification  without  the  slight¬ 
est  suspicion,  believing  all  the  time  it  was  doing  the  oppo¬ 
site.  And  this  derisive  gratification  could  not  be  restrained 
at  the  moment  of  its  triumph.  Imprudence  answered  to 
confusion.  The  heedlessness  of  the  judges  deserved  no  less  a 
punishment  than  the  rash  indiscretion  of  Russian  policy.  It 
was  not  punished,  thanks  to  Turkey,  but  an  apology  was  due. 
It  had  to  be  confessed  that  “the  sick  man,”  to  use  the 
Emperor’s  expression,  was  wiser  than  his  doctors,  and  that  in 
his  amendment  to  their  decision,  it  being  with  him  a  question 
of  life  or  death,  he  had  most  successfully  taken  advantage  of  a 
perfectly  legitimate  right. 

This  was  the  great  crisis  for  all  parties  interested.  In 
England  the  power  passed  decidedly  from  the  peace  party 
to  their  opponents ;  from  Lord  Aberdeen  to  Lord  Palmerston. 
This  was  proved  by  the  speeches  made  in  public  by  several  of 
the  ministers,  —  Lord  John  Russell,  Mr.  Gladstone,  Sir  James 
Graham,  and  Lord  Palmerston  himself.  In  Prance  the  effect 
was  similar,  though  not  so  pronounced.  The  Emperor,  Napo- 


1853-1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


123 


leon  the  Third,  had  taken  great  delight  in  dreaming  of  a  com¬ 
promise  initiated  by  himself  and  shedding  its  glory  upon  him ; 
by  the  Vienna  note  he  thought  that  his  dream  was  about  to 
be  realized.  When  the  miscalculation  became  apparent,  he 
did  not  lose  his  usual  sluggishness,  since  he,  in  common  with 
the  rest  of  Europe,  had  been  deceived,  and  at  least  the  advan¬ 
tage  accruing  from  his  good-will  remained  to  him.  The  idea 
of  a  reconciliation  still  seemed  desirable  and  possible,  but  it 
was  not  the  only  idea  that  came  into  his  mind ;  war  began  to 
hover  irresolutely  in  his  conceptions.  The  double  game  of  a 
policy  of  counter-currents  was  always  more  pleasing  to  him 
than  any  other;  he  came  back  to  it  as  by  a  natural  inclination. 
In  internal  as  well  as  external  affairs,  Napoleon  the  Third 
almost  always  made  this  dualism  a  principle  of  his  government, 
and  it  is  by  no  means  new  to  history ;  but  between  the  great 
statesmen  who  have  succeeded  in  spite  of  the  falsity  and 
immorality  of  this  system,  and  Napoleon,  who  was  brought 
by  it  to  his  ruin,  there  is  all  the  difference  that  distin¬ 
guishes  quick,  supple,  inventive  activity  of  a  genius  ready  to 
conceive,  and  prompt  to  act,  from  the  heavy,  doubtful,  hesitat¬ 
ing,  cumbersome  sluggishness  of  a  phlegmatic  theorist.  By  a 
fortunate  run  of  circumstances,  the  Eastern  question,  from  the 
very  beginning  of  his  reign,  came  to  him  on  the  side  most 
favorable  to  the  peculiar  turn  of  his  character  and  mind.  In 
fact,  the  Emperor  Nicholas  gave  him  a  fair  opportunity ;  dur¬ 
ing  these  long  diplomatic  debates  Napoleon  the  Third  had  all 
the  time  that  he  needed  to  decide,  and  yet  when,  in  March, 
eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-four,  he  was  obliged  to  take  part  in 
the  war  which  for  five  months  had  been  raging  between  Tur¬ 
key  and  Russia,  he  had  not  begun  to  get  ready. 

Austria  was  better  prepared  than  Erance,  though  it  had 
much  greater  repugnance  to  war.  Until  the  last  moment  it 
had  done  its  utmost  to  prevent  the  outbreak  of  hostilities. 
The  Emperor  Francis  Joseph  established  himself  on  the 
eighteenth  of  September  at  the  camp  of  Olmiitz,  where  great 


124 


HISTORY  OP  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  Y. 


military  manoeuvres  were  on  foot ;  the  Emperor  of  Russia  and 
the  King  of  Prussia  were  expected  to  be  present;  foreign 
ministers,  diplomats,  and  officers  were  likewise  invited.  The 
Emperor  Nicholas  arrived  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  September. 
Ilis  coldness  toward  Lord  Westmoreland,  the  English  ambas¬ 
sador,  was  remarked,  as  well  as  his  graciousness  to  the  French 
military  commission  commanded  by  General  de  Goyon.  When 
the  review  was  concluded,  the  Tsar  went  straightway  to  War¬ 
saw,  where  he  was  visited  by  the  Emperor  Francis  Joseph ; 
the  King  of  Prussia,  absent  at  the  first  meeting,  was  present 
at  this.  At  Warsaw,  as  at  Olmiitz,  Count  Buol  and  Count 
Nesselrode  held  continual  conferences ;  the  design  was  to  re¬ 
pair,  if  possible,  the  enormous  blunder  committed  by  the 
Russian  chancellor  in  his  unlucky  commentary.  After  many 
combinations  and  endeavors,  the  skill  of  these  statesmen  suc¬ 
ceeded  in  devising  the  following  expedient :  the  text  of  the 
Vienna  note  should  be  preserved,  but  the  four  powers  should 
unite  to  assure  the  Porte  that  Russia  had  neither  the  intention 
nor  the  desire  to  meddle  with  its  concerns.  This  assurance 
was  almost  as  serious  as  that  contained  in  the  famous  letter  of 
Ninon  to  La  Chatre.  Russia  did  not  disavow  any  part  of  the 
commentary ;  it  would  have  disavowed  it,  had  the  commentary 
been  less  fruitful  of  meaning.  So  England  and  Prance  de¬ 
clined  to  recommend  Count  Buol’s  expedient  to  the  Porte. 

Meanwhile  events  at  Constantinople  were  coming  to  a  crisis. 
The  Tsar’s  religious  manifesto  and  his  call  to  support  the  holy 
war  had  the  natural  result  among  the  Turks.  The  Mussul¬ 
man  population  was  the  more  excitable  because  the  festivities 
of  the  beiram  were  about  to  succeed  the  fast  of  ramazan.  On 
the  tenth  of  September  a  body  of  forty  soft  as,  or  students  of 
the  Koran,  presented  themselves  before  the  Sublime  Porte, 
demanded  to  be  heard  by  the  Council,  and  produced  a  peti¬ 
tion  praying  for  war  in  the  name  of  the  Prophet.  The  peti¬ 
tion  was  largely  composed  of  quotations  from  the  Koran 
enjoining  war  on  the  enemies  of  Islam,  and  it  threatened  vio- 


1853-1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


125 


lence  if  it  were  not  granted.  To  the  objections  raised  by 
some  of  the  ministers  they  said :  “  Here  are  the  words  of  the 
Koran  ;  if  you  are  Mussulmans  you  are  bound  to  obey.  You 
are  now  listening  to  foreign  and  infidel  embassadors,  who  are 
the  enemies  of  the  Faith ;  we  are  the  children  of  the  Prophet. 
We  have  an  army,  and  that  army  cries  out  with  us  for  war  to 
avenge  the  insults  which  the  giaours  have  heaped  upon  us.” 
In  consequence  of  this  manifestation  the  excitement  grew 
rapidly  in  violence.  The  ministers  were  anxious  ;  they  feared 
some  attack  upon  the  Greeks  of  the  city,  upon  the  foreigners, 
upon  the  Sultan  himself.  The  French  and  English  ambassadors 
each  summoned  two  steam  frigates  to  Constantinople.  The 
Austrian  envoy,  Herr  von  Briick,  on  the  other  hand,  still  per¬ 
sisted  in  advising  the  Divan  to  accept  the  Vienna  note  pure 
and  simple.  In  order  to  do  away  with  all  further  importuni¬ 
ties,  the  Sultan  held  a  council  of  his  ministers  on  the  twenty- 
fourth  of  September,  at  the  palace  of  Tcheragan ;  the  note, 
without  the  modifications  proposed  by  Reshid  Pasha,  was 
once  more  unanimously  judged  unacceptable ;  at  the  end  of 
the  session  the  Sultan  ordered  for  the  next  day  a  general  re¬ 
union  of  the  Great  Council  at  the  palace  of  the  Sublime  Porte. 
One  hundred  and  sixty-three  individuals,  the  leading  men  of 
the  empire,  assembled  on  the  twenty-fifth  ;  after  a  deliberation 
which  extended  far  into  the  night,  one  hundred  and  sixty 
voices  voted  to  advise  the  Sultan  to  substitute  a  state  of  actual 
war  for  illusory  negotiations.  For  three  days  Abdul-Medjid 
suspended  his  final  decision ;  on  the  twenty-ninth  he  gave  it. 
An  imperial  hat ,  authorizing  the  result  of  the  deliberations  of 
the  Great  Council  was  sent  to  the  Porte,  and  transmitted  with¬ 
out  the  loss  of  a  moment  to  the  general-in-chief  of  the  army  of 
Rumelia.  On  the  eighth  of  October  the  Mushir  Omer  Pasha, 
from  his  camp  of  Shumla,  where  he  had  just  received  his 
master’s  orders,  summoned  General  Gortchakof  to  evacuate  the 
Turkish  territory  within  fifteen  days.  The  existence  of  war 
having  effectively  annulled  the  stipulations  which  forbade 


126 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  V. 


foreign  squadrons  to  enter  the  Sea  of  Marmora,  Vice-Admiral 
Dundas  and  Vice-Admiral  Hamelin,  with  instructions  from 
London  and  Paris,  left  the  Bay  of  Besika  at  the  summons  of 
the  Sultan,  crossed  the  Dardanelles,  and  with  all  their  forces 
steamed  by  Constantinople  and  cast  anchor  in  the  harbor  of 
Be'ikos  in  the  Bosphorus.  The  war  with  Russia  was  begin¬ 
ning  for  the  Porte ;  for  England  and  Prance  it  would  soon 
begin. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  CRIMEAN  WAR 


1853  -  1855. 

Campaign  of  the  Danube. —  Austrian  Interests.  —  Final  Diplo¬ 
matic  Efforts.  —  Affair  of  Sinope.  —  The  French  and  Eng¬ 
lish  Fleets  in  the  Black  Sea. — Diplomatic  Rupture.  —  Count 
Orlof  at  Vienna.  —  Letters  of  Napoleon  the  Third  and  the 
Emperor  Nicholas. — -Austria  and  Prussia  agree  with  France 
and  England  to  maintain  the  Turkish  Empire. 


CAMPAIGN  OF  THE  DANUBE.  -  AUSTRIAN  INTER¬ 
ESTS.  -  FINAL  DIPLOMATIC  EFFORTS.  -  AFFAIR 
OF  SINOPE. 

PRINCE  GORTCHAKOF  replied  to  Orner  Pasha’s  sum¬ 
mons  simply  that  he  had  no  power  from  the  Emperor, 
his  master,  to  treat  either  of  peace  or  war  or  the  evacuation  of 
the  Principalities.  “  This  is  our  situation  in  brief,”  said 
Count  Nesselrode  to  Sir  Hamilton  Seymour.  “  War  is  de¬ 
clared  against  us ;  we  shall  probably  not  publish  any  counter- 
declaration.  We  shall  not  attack  Turkey ;  we  shall  remain 
with  folded  arms,  resolved  only  to  resist  all  aggression  made 
against  us  either  in  the  Principalities  or  on  our  Asiatic  fron¬ 
tier.  We  shall  thus  pass  the  winter,  ready  to  receive  all  the 
overtures  of  peace  which  Turkey  will  offer.”  At  the  two 
points  indicated  by  Count  Nesselrode,  the  first  shots  were  fired 
at  almost  the  same  time.  On  the  twenty-fifth  of  October  a 
Russian  fleet,  composed  of  two  steamboats  and  eight  gunboats, 
ascending  the  Danube  from  Ismail  to  Galatch,  lost  a  few  men 
in  passing  under  the  fire  of  the  Turkish  batteries  of  Isaktcha. 
At  the  other  extremity  of  the  Black  Sea  the  little  garrison  of 


12S 


HISTORY  OR  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  YI. 


Fort  Nikolai,  surprised  during  the  night  of  October  twenty- 
seventh  by  a  Turkish  detachment  from  Batum,  was  almost 
entirely  captured  after  a  heroic  resistance.  “It  is  painful  to 
me,”  said  Prince  Vorontsof  in  his  report,  “to  have  to  begin 
my  communications  regarding  our  hostilities  with  the  Turks 
by  an  event  so  unfortunate  for  us ;  but  we  have  hope  for  the 
future.”  In  fact,  the  Ottoman  forces  of  the  army  of  Asia,  ill- 
equipped,  ill-organized,  were  not  slow  in  paying  dear  for  this 
first  success.  Beaten  at  Bayanduri  by  Prince  Orbeliani  on  the 
fourteenth  of  November,  on  the  twenty-sixth  by  Prince  Andro- 
nikof  near  Akhaltsikh,  on  the  first  of  December  by  Prince 
Bebutof  at  Bash-Kadiklar,  they  were  driven  back  in  the  great¬ 
est  confusion  under  the  protecting  cannon  of  the  powerful  for¬ 
tress  of  Kars. 

Things  were  not  so  favorable  for  the  Russians  on  the  banks 
of  the  Danube.  The  Kroat,  Michael  Lattas,  formerly  a  cadet 
in  the  Austrian  regiment  of  Ogulin,  now  general-in-chief  of 
the  Turkish  forces,  under  the  name  of  Omer  Pasha  was  show¬ 
ing  the  resolute  ability  of  a  warrior.  After  he  had  drawn  up 
the  ninety  or  one  hundred  thousand  men  of  the  army  of  Ru- 
melia  under  the  walls  of  Adrianople,  he  carried  the  larger  part 
of  it  into  Bulgaria.  Entire  divisions  or  large  detachments 
were  placed  along  the  great  river  in  well-chosen  positions. 
Viddin,  Rahova,  Nikopol,  Sistova,  Rustchuk,  Turtukai,  Silistria, 
Rassova,  watched  the  seventy  thousand  men  of  Prince  Gort- 
chakof,  scattered  at  unequal  posts  on  the  other  bank,  while  two 
strong  reserves  —  one  at  Sofia  behind  Viddin,  the  other  sup¬ 
ported  by  the  Balkans  at  Shumla  behind  Silistria — guarded 
the  right  and  left  flank  of  this  long  line,  and  at  the  same  time 
covered  the  roads  which  might  lead  the  Russians  to  Constanti¬ 
nople.  Without  departing  from  the  defensive,  which  was  the 
basis  of  his  tactics,  Omer  allowed  sudden  attacks  to  enter  into 
his  plans,  local  and  temporary  skirmishes,  which  could  not  fail 
to  astonish  the  enemy,  prevent  him  from  concentrating  his 
forces,  accustom  his  own  troops  to  battle,  and  win  for  them  the 


1853-  1855.] 


THE  CEIMEAN  WAR. 


129 


approval  of  watchful  Europe.  Thus  from  the  twenty-eighth  of 
October  to  the  second  of  November  the  Turks  crossed  the 
river  at  four  places  at  once.  From  Viddin  they  pushed  on  to 
Kalafat,  from  Rustchuk  to  Djurdjevo,  from  Turtukai  to  Ol¬ 
tenitsa,  and  from  Silistria  to  Kalarash.  The  attacks  upon 
Kalarash  and  Djurdjevo  were  merely  unimportant  demonstra¬ 
tions  ;  the  other  two  were  far  more  serious  in  their  conse¬ 
quences. 

Oltenitsa,  occupied  by  Ismail  Pasha,  Omer’s  lieutenant,  with 
a  force  of  nine  thousand  men,  was  only  three  or  four  days’ 
march  from  Bukarest,  capital  of  Valakhia.  On  the  fourth  of 
November  a  desperate  attempt  was  made  by  the  Russians  to 
dislodge  him ;  but  in  less  than  forty-eight  hours  he  succeeded 
in  protecting  himself  by  field-works  and  in  erecting  a  battery 
in  the  quarantine  building,  or  lazaretto,  which  was  of  solid 
construction  with  vaulted  chambers.  His  line  of  defence, 
moreover,  was  flanked  on  the  other  side  of  the  Danube  by  bat¬ 
teries  placed  east  of  Turtukai  on  the  slopes  of  the  Bulgarian 
banks.  The  opposite  shore  was  flat,  marshy,  unsuitable  for 
manoeuvres  and  rapid  movements,  and  put  the  assailant  at  odds 
on  all  sides.  Their  cavalry  and  artillery  stuck  fast  in  the 
mire ;  their  infantry  was  unable  to  force  the  redoubts.  The 
Russians  fell  back  with  a  loss  of  more  than  twelve  hundred 
men.  This  was  a  great  success  for  the  Turks.  Omer,  like  a 
prudent  man,  had  no  desire  to  compromise  himself;  but  he 
took  his  time,  and  without  putting  himself  to  inconvenience, 
nor  waiting  to  be  driven  back  by  the  Russians,  who  were  col¬ 
lecting  in  large  numbers  at  Bukarest,  he  beat  a  calm  and  vol¬ 
untary  retreat  after  holding  his  position  ten  days. 

While  he  evacuated  Oltenitsa  because  he  was  unwilling  to 
risk  a  general  engagement  to  hold  this  fort,  he  fortified  him¬ 
self  at  the  extreme  left  of  his  line  in  the  position  at  Kalafat. 
He  then  constructed  a  vast  battery  well  provided  with  cannon, 
and  which  could  easily  shelter  fifteen  thousand  men ;  a  pon¬ 
toon  bridge  secured  communication  with  Viddin.  As  the 

VOL.  III.  9 


130 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  VI. 


Russians  contented  themselves  with  watching  this  formidable 
work  from  a  distance,  Omer  determined,  after  two  months  had 
passed,  to  make  a  sortie  and  attack  them  himself.  Three  or 
four  hours’  march  to  the  north  of  Kalafat,  a  brigade  of  Russian 
infantry  with  its  field-pieces,  a  regiment  of  hussars  and  a  few 
sotnias  of  Cossacks  occupied  several  villages,  the  chief  of  which 
was  Tchetat.  After  reconnoitring  and  skirmishing  with  the 
enemy  on  the  thirty-first  of  December,  Omer  caused  two  col¬ 
umns,  a  week  later,  to  advance,  —  one  by  a  road  which  skirted 
the  Danube,  the  other  on  the  river  itself,  by  means  of  boats 
hauled  up  the  stream.  The  whole  force,  with  artillery  equal 
to  that  of  the  Russians,  was  superior  to  them  in  strength.  They 
began  the  attack,  and  in  spite  of  the  energetic  resistance  of  the 
enemy,  by  their  numerical  advantage  they  drove  the  Russians 
from  post  to  post  beyond  Tchetat ;  but  as  reinforcements  arrived 
from  Kraiova,  the  Turks  fell  back  from  Tchetat,  and  while  the 
river  column  retreated  on  the  Bulgarian  shore,  the  other  took 
the  direct  road  to  Kalafat  undisturbed.  As  the  Turks  had 
been  obliged  to  leave  two  dismounted  field-pieces,  the  Rus¬ 
sians  seized  upon  them  as  trophies ;  but  it  was  not  much  to 
boast  about,  for  though  they  had  saved  their  honor,  they 
had  not  gained  the  day ;  their  acknowledged  loss  was  more 
than  two  thousand  men.  On  one  of  their  batteries  sixty-five 
men  were  killed  or  wounded  out  of  seventy,  and  fifty-seven 
horses  out  of  sixty.  On  the  tenth  of  January  Omer  renewed 
his  attacks  with  no  pronounced  success  on  either  side ;  but  the 
moral  effect  was  in  favor  of  the  Turks,  who  kept  on  the  offen¬ 
sive  and  were  not  molested  in  Kalafat  by  the  Russians. 

In  attracting  the  brunt  of  hostilities  in  this  direction,  trench¬ 
ing  upon  Austria,  Omer  Pasha  showed  that  he  understood  his 
game  as  well  as  the  sharpest  of  politicians.  In  the  eyes  of 
Austria,  contact  with  Russia  on  the  side  of  Gallicia  was  certainly 
dangerous ;  by  means  of  the  Principalities  it  would  be  deadly. 
It  was  of  little  consequence  whether  the  Principalities  were 
more  or  less  independent  under  the  more  or  less  effective  suze- 


1853-1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


131 


rainty  of  the  Sultan ;  the  main  point  was  that  Russia  should 
not  control  them.  For  Austria,  the  principle  of  the  integrity 
of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  the  fact  of  the  real  if  not  absolute  au¬ 
tonomy  of  the  Principalities,  and  the  free  navigation  of  the 
Danube  were  vital  questions.  “My  policy  in  regard  to  the 
Eastern  question  ?  but  it  is  written  on  the  map,”  said  Count 
Buol  to  his  brother-in-law,  Baron  von  Mayendorf,  the  Russian 
ambassador  at  Vienna ;  “  I  have  changed  it  in  no  respect. 
My  policy  is  that  which  Prince  Metternich  bequeathed  to 
me.”  Could  Baron  von  Mayendorf  doubt  what  this  was? 
“  Beware,”  said  the  old  Chancellor  of  the  Austrian  Empire  to 
him  one  day,  —  “  beware  ;  from  what  I  hear,  I  understand  that 
your  Emperor  is  anxious  to  come  to  extremes  with  Turkey ; 
let  him  think  long.  Be  sure  that  if  he  does  not  leave  the  East 
in  peace,  the  face  of  things  will  change  throughout  Europe, 
and  I  would  not  be  held  responsible  for  anything.”  “  I  am 
sorry  to  tell  you,”  was  Baron  von  Mayendorf  s  reply,  “  that  the 
Emperor  sees  things  in  quite  another  light ;  the  instructions 
which  he  has  given  me  oblige  me  to  urge  you  to  take  a  de¬ 
cided  stand.”  “  Very  well,”  said  Prince  Metternich,  “  I  warn 
you  that  my  conscience  will  not  allow  me  to  hold  my  peace  in 
such  grave  circumstances  and  I  shall  tell  the  Emperor,  my 
master,  of  your  designs.  He  will  not  follow  you  in  the  path 
where  you  wish  to  conduct  him.  He  will  not  follow  you, 
since  he  cannot,  and  your  sovereign,  believe  me,  will  find  him¬ 
self  alone  in  Europe.”  Now  that  the  Russians  had  crossed  the 
Pruth  and  invaded  the  Principalities,  now  that  they  had  sub¬ 
stituted  the  full  authority  of  the  Tsar  for  that  of  the  Hospodars 
and  the  Sultan,  and  especially  now  that  the  heavy  roar  of  the 
cannon  of  Kalafat  could  be  heard  on  the  frontier  of  Banat,  the 
anticipations  of  Austria  passed  from  distrust  to  the  liveliest 
anxiety. 

Was  the  Vienna  Conference  still  in  existence?  According 
to  the  general  opinion,  it  had  received  a  death-blow  from  the 
war.  But  Count  Buol,  at  a  hint  from  the  French  government, 


132 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  VI. 


hastened  to  bring  it  to  life  again,  and  to  give  it  what  it  had 
not  before  possessed,  —  an  official  existence.  The  conference 
decided  to  offer  its  mediation  between  the  belligerent  parties, 
and  its  decision  was  embodied  in  the  famous  protocol  of  the 
fifth  of  December.  Two  principles  were  formulated,  two  obli¬ 
gations  declared  :  first,  that  an  end  must  be  made  to  hostilities 
which  could  not  be  prolonged  without  affecting  the  interests 
of  other  states,  and,  secondly,  that  the  integrity  of  the  Ottoman 
Empire  must  be  maintained.  “  The  assurances  given  on  several 
occasions  by  the  Emperor  of  Russia  preclude  the  idea  that 
that  august  sovereign  entertains  any  wish  to  interfere  with  the 
integrity  of  the  Ottoman  Empire.  The  existence  of  Turkey  in 
the  limits  which  treaties  have  assigned  it  has,  in  fact,  become 
one  of  the  necessary  conditions  of  the  European  equilibrium ; 
and  the  plenipotentiaries  declare  with  satisfaction  that  the 
present  war  cannot  in  any  case  involve  modifications  in  the  ter¬ 
ritorial  circumscriptions  of  the-  two  empires  calculated  to  alter 
the  state  of  possession  which  time  has  consecrated  in  the  East, 
and  which  is  equally  necessary  for  the  tranquillity  of  all  the 
other  powers.”  And  in  a  collective  note  the  conference  invited 
the  Turkish  government  to  inform  it  “on  what  conditions  the 
Ottoman  Empire  would  consent  to  negotiate  a  treaty  of  peace.” 

Meanwhile  Lord  Stratford  de  Redcliffe  began  at  Constanti¬ 
nople  to  devise  a  similar  proposition,  and  had  come  to  an 
agreement  with  the  Austrian  and  Prussian  envoys,  and  with 
the  new  Erench  ambassador,  General  Baraguey  d’Hilliers,  who 
now  took  M.  de  Lacour’s  place.  Whether  he  was  in  the  right 
or  wrong,  Lord  Stratford,  with  a  weakness  natural  to  man, 
vastly  preferred  what  he  was  doing  in  Constantinople  to  what 
others  might  do  elsewhere.  He  was  not  always  careful  to 
obey  his  instructions  from  London ;  how  should  the  Vienna 
conference  —  that  resurrected  conference,  as  he  called  it  —  ex¬ 
pect  to  find  him  more  docile  ?  The  famous  August  note  had 
won  from  him  only  a  cold  support ;  when  the  note  of  the  fifth 
of  December  came  to  him,  he  put  it  in  his  pocket  and  calmly 


1853-1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


133 


advised  his  colleagues  not  to  pay  any  attention  to  it.  This 
proceeding  was  severely  criticised  and  blamed  at  Vienna,  but 
there  was  no  other  consequence,  and  as  the  Porte  had  the  good¬ 
will  to  answer  in  the  sense  most  favorable  to  the  overtures 
which  the  representatives  of  the  four  powers  at  Constantinople 
had  directly  made,  the  conference  had  also  the  good-will  to 
forget  its  wounded  feelings  and  to  ratify  the  amiable  answer 
of  the  Turkish  government  as  though  it  had  been  in  reply  to 
its  own  overtures.  As  to  Russia,  one  would  say  that  either 
it  did  not  care  at  all  for  peace,  or  else  that  an  unlucky  influ¬ 
ence  acted  as  a  dead  weight  upon  its  counsels.  The  advan¬ 
tage  of  the  first  note  of  Vienna  had  been  ruined  by  a  piece  of 
stupidity ;  must  the  act  which  involved  the  Tsar  not  with 
Turkey  alone,  but  with  Prance  and  England,  pass  into  history 
as  a  provocation  or  a  blunder  P 

Toward  the  last  of  November  an  Ottoman  squadron,  consist¬ 
ing  of  seven  frigates,  three  corvettes,  and  two  small  steamers, 
left  the  Bosphorus  to  cruise  in  the  Black  Sea.  It  carried  pro¬ 
visions  and  a  few  reinforcements  for  the  troops  at  Batum.  It 
was  not  without  anxiety  that  the  French  and  English  vice- 
admirals  saw  it  sail  away,  for  Turkish  ships  had  recently  met 
and  even  been  attacked  by  Russian  vessels,  which  proved  that 
the  fleet  of  Sevastopol  was  cruising  about.  Vigilance  was 
extremely  needful  and  the  operation  required  the  greatest  de¬ 
spatch.  Vice-Admiral  Osman  Pasha,  however,  met  with  foul 
weather,  and  put  into  the  open  roadstead  of  Sinope,  or  Sinub, 
situated  in  Anatolia,  on  the  southern  shore  of  the  Black  Sea, 
half-way  between  Constantinople  and  Trebizond.  On  the 
twenty-seventh  two  or  three  Russian  sails  appeared  at  the  en¬ 
trance  of  the  bay  as  scouts.  The  Turkish  fleet,  though  pre¬ 
vented  from  pursuing  its  course,  could  at  least  have  regained 
the  Bosphorus ;  it  did  nothing  of  the  sort.  After  spending 
three  days  in  strengthening  his  position,  Osman  saw  six  ships 
of  the  line,  two  frigates,  and  three  steamers  arrive,  under  com¬ 
mand  of  Vice-Admiral  Nakhimof.  The  frigate  of  the  Turkish 


134 


HISTORY  OR  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  VI. 


admiral  began  tlie  fire  at  half  past  one.  The  Russian  fleet  re¬ 
plied.  At  five  o’clock  nothing  remained  of  the  Turkish  fleet. 
One  corvette  remained  at  anchor,  but  crippled ;  the  Russians 
endeavored  to  tow  her  off  as  a  prize,  but  they  soon  set  fire  to 
her.  The  batteries  built  on  the  shore  for  the  defence  of  the 
roadstead  were  dismounted  and  ruined ;  the  city  itself,  which 
numbered  about  ten  thousand  inhabitants,  suffered  severely. 
The  Turks  lost  more  than  four  thousand  men  in  this  engage¬ 
ment.  One  steamboat  alone,  the  Taif,  signalled  by  Osman 
Pasha  at  the  beginning  of  the  action,  managed  to  gain  the 
offing  and  escaped  to  Constantinople. 

THE  FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH  FLEETS  IN  THE  BLACK 
SEA. -DIPLOMATIC  RUPTURE.  -  COUNT  ORLOF  AT 
VIENNA. 

The  news  brought  by  the  Taif  spread  through  all  Europe 
like  lightning.  Everywhere  the  excitement  was  deep  and  vio¬ 
lent  ;  there  was  only  one  cry,  —  of  indignation  against  Russia, 
and  a  curse  upon  the  Russian  fleet.  To-day,  so  far  removed 
by  the  course  of  time  from  the  universal  outburst  which  this 
event  caused,  it  is  allowable,  it  is  a  duty,  for  us  to  render  a  calmer 
judgment  upon  the  affair  of  Sinope.  Even  if  the  Russians  held 
themselves  on  the  defensive,  as  it  was  affirmed  they  had 
promised  to  do,  it  was  their  right  to  cut  off  supplies  of  pro¬ 
visions,  to  intercept  or  destroy  the  convoys  of  their  enemy. 
This  right  had  already  been  exercised  without  any  protest  be¬ 
ing  raised  against  them.  At  Sinope  the  use  made  of  this  right 
was  entirely  legitimate ;  but,  considering  the  state  of  affairs  and 
opinions,  it  was  imprudent  and  excessive.  It  was  the  dispro¬ 
portion  of  forces,  the  feebleness  and  the  entire  ruin  of  the 
enemy,  —  in  a  word,  it  was  the  enormity  of  the  success  which 
aroused  against  the  conqueror  the  instinctive  sense  of  justice 
implanted  in  the  human  heart ;  and  it  was  at  the  very  moment 
when  diplomacy  was  endeavoring  to  regain  an  authority  surely 
unsubstantial  enough,  that  instead  of  allowing  feeble  efforts  to 


1853-1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


135 


be  made  and  wasted,  Russia  gave  neutral  and  hesitating  states 
reason  to  fear  that  the  Tsar  was  willing  to  discredit  negotia¬ 
tions  by  an  act  of  violence.  As  far  as  those  were  concerned 
who,  like  France  and  England,  were  already  more  than  half 
enlightened,  it  seemed  as  though  Russia  had  designedly 
hastened  the  decisive  rupture  between  them ;  and  such  was  the 
universal  opinion  in  the  two  countries,  and  at  first  in  the  two 
fleets  which,  lying  in  the  immediate  scene  of  the  action,  saw 
in  it  a  sort  of  provocation  and,  as  it  were,  a  challenge. 

It  was  vain  for  Russia  to  protest  against  the  wrongful  im¬ 
putation  ;  the  sincerity  of  its  protestations  was  idle  against  the 
effect  of  its  rashness.  “  The  blow  struck  at  Sinope  was  not 
against  Turkey  alone,”  said  M.  Drouyn  de  Lhuys  on  the  thir¬ 
teenth  of  December,  and  the  next  day  he  addressed  a  telegram 
to  General  Baraguey  d’Hilliers,  urging  him  to  unite  with  the 
English  envoy  in  despatching  the  combined  fleets  as  soon  as 
possible  into  the  Black  Sea.  He  wished  to  counteract  the  oc¬ 
cupation  of  the  Principalities  by  a  genuine  “  maritime  occu¬ 
pation.”  “  Either  the  army  commanded  by  Prince  Gortchakof 
shall  repass  the  Pruth,”  he  wrote  to  Count  Walewski,  the 
French  envoy  at  London,  “  or  our  vessels  shall  enter,  as  far  as 
the  season  will  admit,  into  the  Euxine,  and  cut  off  all  mari¬ 
time  communication  between  Russia  and  its  Asiatic  prov¬ 
inces.  We  shall  thus  keep  the  Black  Sea  as  a  pawn  until  the 
evacuation  of  the  Principalities  and  the  re-establishment  of 
peace.”  Every  Russian  ship  of  war  encountered  at  sea  by  the 
French  or  English  cruisers  was  to  be  required  to  return  to  Se¬ 
vastopol.  The  seriousness  of  the  proposition  at  first  startled 
the  cabinet  of  St.  James ;  nevertheless  they  yielded,  and  it  may 
be  said  they  contributed  the  harshness  of  the  form  in  which 
the  severity  of  the  decision  was  couched.  “  It  is  essential,”  said 
Lord  Clarendon  in  his  depatch  of  the  twenty-seventh  of  De¬ 
cember  to  Sir  Hamilton  Seymour,  —  “  it  is  essential  that  the 
combined  fleets  should  have  the  command  of  the  Black  Sea. 
You  will  inform  Count  Nesselrode  that,  in  order  to  prevent  the 


136 


HISTORY  OR  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  VI. 


recurrence  of  disasters  such  as  that  at  Sinope,  the  combined 
fleet  will  require,  and,  if  necessary,  compel,  Russian  ships  of 
war  to  return  to  Sevastopol  or  the  nearest  port.” 

On  the  third  of  January,  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-four, 
Vice-Admirals  Dundas  and  Hamelin  left  simultaneously  the 
anchorage  of  Berkos  on  their  way  from  the  Bosphorus  into  the 
Euxine.  While  one  division  of  the  fleet  flying  the  French  and 
English  flags  escorted  a  convoy  of  Ottoman  transports  to  Ba- 
tum,  the  rest  of  the  ships  cast  anchor  in  the  roadstead  of 
Sinope.  An  English  frigate,  the  Retribution,  was  sent  to 
Sevastopol  with  a  notification  of  the  agreement  between  the 
powers.  On  the  seventh  of  January,  at  daybreak,  she  came  in 
through  the  channel,  without  having  been  signalled  by  the 
lookout-men,  owTing  to  the  dense  fog,  and  all  of  a  sudden  she 
appeared  amid  the  mist,  like  a  fantastic  vision.  The  Russians 
could  not  believe  their  eyes ;  never  before  had  a  foreign  flag 
floated  over  these  forbidden  waters.  The  military  port  was 
filled  with  confusion ;  signal-guns  thundered  from  the  neigh¬ 
boring  batteries  ;  an  admiralty  boat,  however,  accosted  the 
audacious  visitor,  and  refused  to  receive  its  despatches  before  it 
had  retired  beyond  gunshot.  The  frigate  turned  slowly  and 
steamed  down  the  bay  at  her  leisure ;  then,  having  reached  the 
limits  and  declared  her  message,  she  disappeared  in  the  direc¬ 
tion  of  Sinope. 

The  resolutions  taken  by  the  cabinets  of  Paris  and  London 
were  officially  brought  to  the  notice  of  Count  Nesselrode  on 
the  twelfth  of  January  by  Sir  Hamilton  Seymour  and  General 
de  Castelbajac.  The  Chancellor  answered  indirectly  by  de¬ 
manding  explanations  through  the  Emperor’s  envoys  at  the 
courts  of  England  and  Prance.  Two  questions  were  laid  before 
them :  If  the  Russian  fleet  was  no  longer  at  liberty  to  attack 
the  Ottoman  flag  and  territory,  would  the  Ottoman  fleet  be  at 
liberty  to  attack  the  Russian  flag  and  territory  ?  And,  secondly, 
if  Turkish  squadrons  could  sail  with  impunity  from  one 
port  to  another,  would  Russian  squadrons,  by  the  principle  of 


1853  -  1865-3 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


137 


just  reciprocity,  be  guaranteed  the  same  advantage?  Lord 
Clarendon  and  M.  Drouyn  de  Lhuys  having  each  answered 
these  questions  in  the  negative,  Russia,  satisfied  on  the  first 
point,  but  aggrieved  on  the  second,  took  a  decided  step.  On 
the  fourth  of  February  the  formal  suspension  of  diplomatic  re¬ 
lations  between  Russia  on  one  side  and  France  and  England 
on  the  other  was  declared  at  London  and  Paris  by  Baron 
Brunof  and  Mr.  Kiselef.  Three  days  later  General  de  Castel- 
bajac  and  Sir  G.  H.  Seymour  were  instructed  by  their  govern¬ 
ments  to  withdraw  from  Saint  Petersburg. 

But  while  the  Emperor  Nicholas  was  breaking  decidedly 
with  France  and  England,  he  made  desperate  efforts  to  attach 
Austria  and  Prussia  to  his  cause.  He  knew  that  in  the  month 
of  September,  or  October,  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-three,  at 
the  interviews  of  Olmutz  and  Warsaw,  Austria,  still  in  a  state 
of  hesitation,  had  proposed  to  Prussia  that  each  should  remain 
neutral,  and  he  knew  the  surprising  fact  that  it  was  Prussia 
which  declined  the  propositions  of  Austria.  To  awaken  these 
wishes  for  neutrality,  to  destroy  the  unanimity  of  the  Vienna 
conference,  and,  while  waiting  for  better  things,  to  oppose  to  the 
martial  ardor  of  the  Western  powers,  the  reserve  and  inaction 
of  the  German  powers  —  such  were  the  designs  which  the  in¬ 
flexible  and  domineering  Tsar  was  still  revolving  in  his  mind. 
To  bring  these  things  to  a  surer  fulfilment,  he  made  choice  of 
one  of  his  most  important  statesmen,  who  most  thoroughly 
sympathized  with  his  policy.  Toward  the  end  of  January, 
eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-four,  he  sent  Count  Orlof  to  Vienna 
just  as  he  had  before  sent  Prince  Menshikof  to  Constantinople. 
In  these  two  missions  there  were  the  same  tactics,  the  same 
affectation  of  mystery,  the  same  dissatisfied  and  haughty  de¬ 
meanor.  After  several  days  of  noticeable  silence,  Count  Orlof 
asked,  and  was  granted  on  the  thirtieth  of  January,  a  private 
interview  with  the  Emperor  Francis  Joseph.  He  gave  him  an 
autograph  letter  from  his  sovereign,  in  which  the  Tsar  declared 
that  he  was  ready  to  conclude  an  honorable  peace,  but  mean- 


138 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  VI. 


while  he  demanded  that  the  Austrian  Emperor,  in  conjunction 
with  the  King  of  Prussia,  should  engage  to  preserve  a  strict 
neutrality.  Before  giving  his  answer,  the  Emperor  Francis 
Joseph  asked  the  envoy  of  the  Tsar  whether  his  master  would 
confirm  his  engagement  not  to  cross  the  Danube,  to  evacuate 
the  Principalities  after  the  war,  and  not  to  disturb  the  actual 
order  and  the  territorial  possessions  of  the  Turkish  Empire. 
As  Count  Orlof  refused  to  undertake  any  such  engagement  in 
the  name  of  the  Russian  Emperor,  Francis  Joseph  also  refused 
absolutely  to  make  any  promise  to  the  Tsar ;  he  even  added 
that  he  should  be  faithful  to  the  principles  adopted  by  the  four 
powers  and  should  continue  to  regulate  his  conduct  in  con¬ 
formity  to  the  best  interests  as  well  as  the  dignity  of  his 
empire. 

Dissatisfied,  but  not  bluffed,  the  Tsar’s  confidant  endeavored 
to  play  a  better  hand  with  Count  Buol ;  in  a  far  more  explicit 
interview  than  the  imperial  audience  had  been,  he  subjected  to 
the  Austrian  minister  a  draught  for  a  protocol  which  comprised 
three  heads :  The  position  of  Austria  and  Prussia  should  be 
that  of  absolute  neutrality  as  far  as  Russia  was  concerned,  but 
they  should  be  armed  and  ready  to  defend  themselves  against 
the  threats  and  pressure  of  the  Western  powers.  In  case  these 
powers  should  attack  Austrian  or  Prussian  territory  or  any 
state  of  the  Germanic  confederation,  Russia,  Prussia,  and  Austria 
should  combine  to  assist  the  territory  imperilled.  And,  finally, 
if  it  happened  that  the  events  of  the  war  changed  the  face  of 
things  in  the  East,  the  Tsar  would  agree  not  to  come  to  any 
conclusion  without  a  preliminary  understanding  with  his  allies. 
It  was  no  simple  convention,  therefore,  but  a  veritable  treaty  of 
defensive  alliance  which  Russia  intended  to  submit  to  Austria. 
Whatever  it  was,  Count  Buol,  with  courteous  firmness,  absolute¬ 
ly  declined  to  sign  it,  and  when  Count  Orlof  called  to  remem¬ 
brance  the  perfect  accord  which  had  existed  for  forty  years 
between  the  three  Northern  powers  in  maintaining  the  general 
order  of  Europe,  and  finally  reproached  the  Austrian  govern- 


COUNT  ORLOF 


1853-1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


139 


ment  for  deserting  the  obligations  and  forgetting  the  principles 
of  the  alliance,  he  received  the  plain  answer  that  the  spirit  of 
conservatism  influenced  those  who  watched  over  the  integrity 
of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  rather  than  the  man  who  had  already 
begun  to  attack  it.  On  the  third  of  February  an  order  signed 
by  the  Emperor  Francis  Joseph  raised  to  thirty  thousand  men 
the  army  of  observation  stationed  in  Transylvania.  On  the 
eighth  the  Vienna  Conference  held  a  session  to  receive  Count 
Buol’s  report  of  his  despatches  to  the  Austrian  envoy  at  Saint 
Petersburg ;  the  able  and  resolute  conduct  of  the  Austrian 
minister  was  unanimously  approved.  The  same  day  Count 
Orlof  left  Vienna. 

At  Berlin  the  negotiations  were  conducted  with  less  formal¬ 
ity,  but  rather,  one  might  say  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word,  as 
a  family  affair.  Since  he  was  brother-in-law  of  King  Frederic 
William  the  Fourth,  Nicholas  thought  it  unnecessary  to  send 
an  envoy  extraordinary.  His  accredited  representative,  Baron 
Budberg,  was  commissioned,  in  the  first  place,  to  put  into  the 
King’s  hands  an  autograph  letter,  and  then  to  give  the  minis¬ 
ter,  Baron  Manteuffel,  the  draught  of  the  protocol  supported 
by  a  letter  from  Count  Nesselrode.  Two  rival  influences  were 
at  work  on  the  somewhat  weak  and  fickle  mind  of  King  Fred¬ 
eric  William :  on  one  side  was  the  royal  house,  followed  by 
the  whole  aristocratic,  or,  as  it  was  called,  the  feudal  party,  de¬ 
cidedly  inclined  toward  Russia ;  on  the  other,  the  Prime  Minis¬ 
ter,  hostile  to  that  power  and  sustained  in  the  Chambers  and 
out  of  them  by  the  opinion  of  the  liberal  and  parliamentary 
middle  classes.  Instead  of  applying  to  Baron  Manteuffel, 
it  was  without  his  knowledge,  that  Baron  Budberg,  passing  by 
the  King’s  minister,  obtained  an  audience  of  Frederic  William 
and  gave  him  his  brother-in-law’s  letter.  This  proceeding  so 
like  that  of  Prince  Menshikof,  aggrieved  Baron  Manteuffel,  who 
immediately  resigned ;  but  as  his  resignation  was  not  accepted, 
he  retained  his  place  with  increased  strength.  Baron  Budberg 
resented  it,  and  he  was  dismissed  more  quickly  and  less  courte- 


140 


HISTORY  OR  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  YX. 


ously  than  Count  Orlof  had  been.  The  despatch  of  the  thirty- 
first  of  January,  sent  by  Baron  Manteuffel  to  the  Prussian 
minister  at  Saint  Petersburg,  stated,  in  substance,  that  the  pro¬ 
tocol  of  the  fifth  of  December  and  the  negotiations  arising 
from  it  had  created  between  the  four  powers  a  mutual  engage¬ 
ment  from  which  Prussia  was  unable  to  withdraw,  and,  on  the 
other  hand  that  if  it  adopted  the  principle  of  an  armed  neu¬ 
trality  its  action  would  be  fettered  in  view  of  contingencies 
whose  reach  could  not  be  foreseen.  In  a  second  despatch, 
after  showing  that,  under  a  disguise,  what  Russia  asked  for  was 
not  only  a  defensive  alliance  but  a  genuine  and  effective  con- 
currence,  Baron  Manteuffel  did  not  hesitate  to  make  an 
allusion  to  the  Hungarian  insurrection,  which  was  equally  dis¬ 
agreeable  to  the  Court  of  Saint  Petersburg  and  Vienna,  in  call¬ 
ing  up  the  memory  of  services  rendered  by  the  one  and  ill 
acknowledged  by  the  other,  and  he  added  proudly  that  if  Rus¬ 
sia  had  nothing  to  fear  from  the  spirit  of  revolution,  Prussia 
had  shown  its  ability  to  crush  it  without  foreign  assistance. 

LETTERS  OF  NAPOLEON  THE  THIRD  AND  THE  EM¬ 
PEROR  NICHOLAS.- AUSTRIA  AND  PRUSSIA  AGREE 
WITH  FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  TO  MAINTAIN  THE 
TURKISH  EMPIRE. 

When  official  and  regular  diplomacy  has  reached  the  end  of 
its  resources,  direct  communications  from  sovereign  to  sover¬ 
eign  in  the  way  of  autograph  letters  are  expedients  of  doubt¬ 
ful  value.  “  We  have  left  to  us  the  shadow  of  a  shadow  of 
hope,”  said  Earl  Eitz-William  in  the  House  of  Lords,  referring 
to  a  letter  written  with  the  approbation  of  the  English  govern¬ 
ment  by  the  Emperor  Napoleon  the  Third  to  the  Emperor 
Nicholas,  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  January.  After  stating  the 
part  which  had  been  taken  by  Prance  and  England,  Napoleon 
made  the  following  proposition  :  “  Should  your  Majesty  be  as 
desirous  as  myself  of  a  pacific  conclusion,  what  would  be  more 
simple  than  to  declare  that  an  armistice  shall  now  be  signed, 


18B3  - 1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


141 


that  things  shall  resume  their  diplomatic  course,  that  all  hos¬ 
tilities  shall  cease,  and  that  the  belligerent  forces  shall  return 
from  the  places  whither  motives  of  war  have  led  them?  Thus 
the  Russian  troops  would  abandon  the  principalities,  and  our 
squadrons  the  Black  Sea.  If  your  Majesty  preferred  to  treat 
directly  with  Turkey,  you  might  appoint  a  plenipotentary  who 
could  negotiate  with  a  plenipotentary  of  the  Sultan  a  conven¬ 
tion  to  be  submitted  to  the  four  powers.  Let  your  Majesty 
adopt  this  plan,  upon  which  the  Queen  of  England  and  myself 
are  perfectly  agreed,  and  tranquillity  will  be  re-established  and 
the  world  satisfied.  There  is  nothing  in  this  plan  which  is 
unworthy  of  your  Majesty,  nothing  which  can  wound  your 
honor;  but  if,  from  a  motive  difficult  to  understand,  your 
Majesty  refuses  this  proposal,  then  Erance  as  well  as  England 
will  be  obliged  to  leave  to  the  fate  of  arms  and  the  chances  of 
war  that  which  might  now  be  decided  by  reason  and  justice.” 

The  reply  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas,  dated  February  eighth, 
reached  Paris  ten  days  later.  It  was  negative,  as  might 
have  been  expected.  The  Tsar  indulged  in  recriminations 
against  England  and  Erance :  “  I  have  made  for  the  mainte¬ 
nance  of  peace,  all  the  concessions,  both  in  form  and  substance, 
compatible  with  my  honor,  and  in  claiming  for  my  co-religion- 
ists  in  Turkey  a  confirmation  of  the  rights  and  privileges  which 
they  long  ago  acquired  at  the  price  of  Russian  blood,  I  de¬ 
manded  nothing  which  was  not  confirmed  by  treaties.  If  the 
Porte  had  been  left  to  itself,  the  difference  which  holds  Europe 
in  suspense  would  long  ere  this  have  been  settled.  A  fatal  in¬ 
fluence  has  intervened  to  throw  everything  into  confusion.  I 
learn  that  the  two  powers,  while  protecting  the  reinforcement  of 
Turkish  troops  on  their  own  territory,  have  resolved  to  prohibit 
to  us  the  navigation  of  the  Black  Sea,  that  is  to  say,  apparently 
to  take  from  us  the  right  to  protect  our  own  coasts.  I  leave 
it  to  your  Majesty  to  consider  if  that  is,  as  you  say,  the  way  to 
facilitate  the  conclusion  of  peace,  and  if,  in  the  alternative 
which  is  laid  before  me,  T  am  allowed  to  discuss  or  examine, 


142 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[ClfAP.  VI. 


even  for  a  moment,  your  proposals  for  an  armistice,  the  im¬ 
mediate  evacuation  of  the  Principalities,  and  for  a  negotiation 
with  the  Porte  of  a  convention  to  be  submitted  to  a  conference 
of  the  four  courts.  Would  you  yourself,  if  you  were  in  my 
place,  accept  such  a  proposition?  Would  your  national  feel¬ 
ing  allow  you  to  do  so  ?  I  am  bold  to  answer,  no.  Allow  me 
then  in  my  turn  the  right  of  thinking  as  you  yourself  would 
think.  Whatever  your  Majesty  may  decide,  threats  will  not 
induce  me  to  recede.  My  trust  is  in  God  and  in  my  right, 
and  Russia,  as  I  can  pledge,  will  prove  herself  in  eighteen 
hundred  and  fifty-four  what  she  was  in  eighteen  hundred  and 
twelve.”  We  shall  find  again,  in  the  manifesto  of  Pebruary 
twenty-first,  the  invocation  of  that  terrible  year :  “  But 

Russia  will  not  betray  its  holy  mission,  and  if  enemies  invade 
its  borders,  we  are  ready  to  meet  them  with  the  firmness  be¬ 
queathed  to  us  by  our  forefathers.  Are  we  not  still  the  same 
Russian  nation  whose  valor  is  attested  by  the  memorable  events 
of  eighteen  hundred  and  twelve  ?  May  the  Almighty  help  to 
prove  this  by  deeds.” 

On  the  twenty-seventh  of  Pebruary  two  despatches  of  simi¬ 
lar  import  were  sent  from  Paris  and  London  to  Saint  Peters¬ 
burg  ;  they  contained  a  summons  to  the  Tsar  to  withdraw  his 
troops  from  the  Principalities  before  the  thirtieth  of  April  at 
the  latest.  A  refusal  to  submit  or  to  answer  would  be  con¬ 
sidered  as  tantamount  to  a  declaration  of  war.  It  was  the 
thirteenth  of  March  when  the  courier  reached  Saint  Peters¬ 
burg  ;  the  next  day,  the  Prench  and  English  consuls  placed 
the  summons  in  Count  Nesselrode’s  hands.  On  the  eighteenth 
they  were  invited  to  call  upon  the  Chancellor,  and  received 
this  laconic  communication :  “  The  Emperor  thinks  it  unbe¬ 
coming  to  make  any  reply.”  Mr.  Michele,  the  English  con¬ 
sul,  then  asked  what  would  be  the  consular  arrangements 
between  the  belligerent  powers  when  war  was  once  declared. 
“  That  will  depend  entirely  upon  the  course  which  the  French 
and  English  governments  adopt,”  said  Count  Nesselrode ;  “  we 
shall  not  declare  war.” 


1853-1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


143 


On  the  seventh  of  March  the  French  Minister  of  Finance 
brought  in  a  bill  to  negotiate  a  loan  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  million  francs,  saying,  “  Important  maritime  armaments 
and  expeditions  to  distant  shores  will  soon  be  attended  with 
sacrifices  which  are  not  provided  for  in  the  estimates  or  by  the 
ordinary  means  of  the  treasury.”  The  loan  was  authorized, 
and  all  the  members  of  the  Legislative  body  proceeded  to  the 
Tuileries  to  present  the  bill  to  Napoleon,  who  felt  much  pleased 
with  this  expression  of  their  confidence  and  support.  The 
English  House  of  Commons  had  already  granted  the  Queen’s 
government  an  extraordinary  subsidy  of  three  million  pounds 
sterling,  for  the  necessary  increase  in  the  army  and  navy.  On 
the  twenty-seventh  of  March  a  message  of  the  Emperor  Napo¬ 
leon  and  a  message  of  Queen  Victoria,  read  before  the  parlia¬ 
mentary  assemblies  of  the  two  nations,  informed  the  world 
that  a  state  of  war  had  succeeded  the  suspension  of  diplomatic 
relations  between  England  and  France  on  one  side,  and  Russia 
on  the  other.  A  treaty  signed  at  Constantinople  assured  the 
Porte  of  the  armed  assistance  of  the  two  powers,  who  were 
solemnly  engaged  to  each  other  by  a  treaty  of  alliance  signed 
at  London  on  the  tenth  of  April. 

Of  the  two  German  powers,  Austria  was  the  most  decided, 
because  the  presence  of  the  Russians  in  the  Principalities  gave 
reason  for  more  disquietude.  Thus,  at  Saint  Petersburg  it  had 
supported  strenuously  the  summons  made  by  France  and  Eng¬ 
land,  while  Prussia  simply  held  aloof.  Likewise,  when  France 
and  England  proposed  to  substitute  for  the  rather  theoretical 
protocols  of  the  conference  a  regular  treaty  of  quadruple  alli¬ 
ance  equally  binding  on  all  parties,  Austria  declared  itself 
ready  to  subscribe,  but  the  King  of  Prussia,  from  family  scru¬ 
ples,  refused  his  signature.  Baron  Manteuffel,  however,  before 
the  Prussian  parliament  as  well  as  in  his  diplomatic  conversa¬ 
tions,  did  not  cease  to  declare  that  his  government  was  in 
moral  accord  with  the  other  three  powers,  and,  in  fact,  Prussian 
representation  at  the  Vienna  conference  did  not  hesitate  to  sign 


144 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  VI. 


the  protocol  of  the  ninth  of  April,  one  of  the  most  important 
acts  of  that  diplomatic  body.  The  territorial  integrity  of  the 
Ottoman  Empire,  as  an  absolute  condition  for  every  transaction 
having  peace  in  view,  was  proclaimed  anew,  and  the  evacuation 
of  the  Principalities  was  insisted  upon.  Moreover,  the  govern¬ 
ments  represented  at  the  conference  agreed  not  to  make  any 
engagement  with  Russia  or  any  other  power  which  did  not 
adhere  to  this  principle  until  first  a  common  conference  had 
been  held. 

“  At  this  solemn  moment,”  as  it  was  expressly  said  in  the 
protocol,  in  which  Prance  and  England  were  about  to  pass 
from  debate  to  battle,  in  which,  consequently,  the  exclusively 
diplomatic  campaign  pursued  for  nearly  a  year  came  to  an 
end,  it  was  not  a  matter  of  indifference  that  the  two  other 
powers  should  recognize  “  the  necessity  of  stating  anew  the 
union  of  the  four  governments  on  the  ground  of  principles.” 


CHAPTER  VII. 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 

1853  - 1855. 

Military  Arrangements  of  France  and  England. — The  Allied 
Armies  at  Gallipoli  and  Varna.  —  Siege  of  Silistria. —  Bom¬ 
bardment  of  Odessa.  —  Expedition  into  the  Dobrudsha:  the 
Cholera.  —  The  Crimea.  —  Battle  of  the  Alma. — Sevastopol. 


MILITARY  ARRANGEMENTS  OF  FRANCE  AND  ENG¬ 
LAND. -THE  ALLIED  ARMIES  AT  GALLIPOLI  AND 
VARNA. -SIEGE  OF  SILISTRIA. -BOMBARDMENT  OF 
ODESSA. 


ON  the  eleventh  of  March  Marshal  Saint  Arnaud  was  ap¬ 
pointed  commander-in-chief  of  the  French  expedition  to 
the  East.  General  Vaillant  succeeded  to  the  Ministry  of  War. 
Although  at  Marseilles  there  reigned  the  greatest  confusion,  and 
neither  the  naval  nor  the  military  arrangements  were  com¬ 
pleted,  General  Canrobert,  who  commanded  the  first  division, 
was  ordered  to  depart  on  the  nineteenth.  At  Malta  he  found 
fifteen  thousand  English  soldiers  who  had  left  England  in 
February.  They  were  under  the  command  of  Lord  Raglan, 
who,  under  the  name  of  Lord  Fitzroy  Somerset,  had  fought 
in  the  Peninsular  war  with  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  He  was 
a  man  sixty-six  years  old,  and  had  lost  his  right  arm  at  the 
battle  of  Waterloo. 

Napoleon  was  inclined  to  fortify  the  peninsula  of  Gallipoli. 
In  his  instructions  to  Marshal  Saint  Arnaud  he  said :  “  The 
peninsula  of  Gallipoli  is  selected  as  the  principal  site  of  dis- 


146 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  VII. 


embarkation,  because  it  should  be,  as  a  strategical  point,  the 
basis  of  our  operations,  —  that  is  to  say,  the  place  for  our  stores, 
ambulances,  and  provisions,  and  from  whence  we  may  easily 
march  forward  or  re-embark.”  Gallipoli  was  the  largest  city 
on  the  peninsula,  and  though  it  was  not  walled,  and  had  for 
defence  only  an  ancient  ruined  castle,  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  the  isthmus  of  Bula'ir,  an  excellent  anchorage,  and  a  shore 
favorable  for  disembarkation  determined  its  selection.  The 
houses,  for  the  most  part  of  wood,  were  built  in  irregular  rows 
on  the  side  of  a  steep  hill  sloping  to  the  water.  The  streets 
were  narrow  and  filthy.  The  inhabitants,  a  wretched  mixture 
of  Turks,  Greeks,  and  Armenians,  amounted  to  fifteen  or  six¬ 
teen  thousand  souls. 

The  troops,  immediately  upon  their  arrival,  began  to  form  an 
intrenched  camp,  consisting  of  a  series  of  field-works  about 
thirteen  kilometers  in  length,  running  from  the  Sea  of  Marmora 
to  the  Gulf  of  Saros.  The  town  was  divided  into  two  portions, 
of  which  the  western  was  given  to  the  English.  Two  mosques 
were  transformed  into  powder-magazines,  and  the  muezzin  were 
replaced  by  watchmen  in  the  tapering  minarets.  Before  these 
field-works  were  finished,  however,  the  troops  were  removed  to 
the  Bosphorus ;  the  British,  ten  thousand  strong,  making  their 
camp  at  Scutari  on  the  Asiatic  shore,  and  the  French,  about 
double  in  point  of  numbers,  occupying  the  vicinity  of  Con¬ 
stantinople. 

The  Russians  meanwhile  had  crossed  the  Danube  at  Bra'ila, 
Galats,  and  Ismail,  taken  the  small  fortresses  of  Matchin, 
Isaktcha,  and  Tultcha,  and  were  occupying  the  southern  part 
of  the  region  called  Tartary  Dobrudsha,  bounded  by  the  Dan¬ 
ube,  the  Sea,  and  the  Wall  of  Trajan. 

Lord  Raglan  left  England  on  the  tenth  of  April,  in  company 
with  the  Duke  of  Cambridge,  and  on  the  twenty-ninth  reached 
Constantinople,  whither  he  was  followed  ten  days  later  by 
Marshal  Saint  Arnaud.  On  the  twenty-second  of  April  the 
first  hostilities  on  the  part  of  the  allied  fleets  were  begun  in  the 


1853-1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


147 


Black  Sea.  Several  weeks  before,  the  English  steam-frigate 
Furious  approached  Odessa  with  a  flag  of  truce,  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  removing  the  English  residents.  The  Russians  fired 
upon  the  frigate ;  Baron  Osten-Sacken,  the  commandant,  claim¬ 
ing  that  soundings  had  been  made  and  that  the  flag  of  truce 
was  used  to  cover  hostile  investigations.  Odessa  is  situated  on 
a  line  of  cliffs  which  curve  inward,  forming  a  shallow  bay.  At 
the  southeastern  extremity  a  long  fortified  mole  ran  out  for 
the  protection  of  shipping.  The  town  was  otherwise  defended 
by  seven  batteries,  and  there  was  a  strong  citadel  on  the  west, 
mounting  heavy  cannon.  On  the  day  mentioned  a  fleet  of 
five  English  and  three  French  steam-frigates  approached 
Odessa,  and,  after  an  incessant  cannonading  of  ten  hours,  de¬ 
stroyed  the  batteries  and  the  mole ;  many  factories,  warehouses, 
and  shops  were  set  on  fire,  and  Count  Vorontsof’s  magnifi¬ 
cent  palace  was  damaged.  The  city  and  the  port  were  spared 
as  far  as  practicable.  The  Emperor  Nicholas,  in  a  manifesto, 
held  up  to  the  detestation  of  his  subjects  the  action  of  the 
allies  in  attacking  Odessa  “  on  a  day  in  which  the  inhabitants 
were  assembled  in  the  Orthodox  Temple  to  celebrate  the  death 
of  the  Son  of  God,  crucified  for  the  redemption  of  humanity,  — 
a  city  of  peace  and  commerce  where  all  Europe  in  its  days  of 
scarcity  and  famine  always  found  open  granaries.” 

Marshal  Paskievitch,  toward  the  end  of  April,  came  to  take 
command  of  the  army  under  Prince  Gortchakof.  He  concen¬ 
trated  a  large  force  in  the  vicinity  of  Bukarest  and  then  crossed 
the  Danube  at  Kalarash.  Silistria  was  invested  and  under¬ 
went  a  regular  siege,  which  lasted  until  the  twenty-third  of 
June,  when  the  Russians  dismantled  their  batteries,  evacuated 
their  positions,  and  retired  to  the  left  bank  of  the  Danube. 
The  siege  had  been  a  long  and  costly  one  :  many  furious  en¬ 
gagements  put  to  the  test  the  bravery  of  the  Turks  and  Rus¬ 
sians.  On  the  night  of  the  second  of  June  Musa  Pasha  was 
killed  by  a  shell ;  on  the  thirteenth  the  Russians  made  a  grand 
attempt  to  take  the  place  by  storm,  but  they  were  repulsed. 


148 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  VIL 


General  Shilders  was  killed.  General  Liiders,  Count  Orlof, 
Prince  Gortchakof,  and  Prince  Paskievitch  were  wounded. 
On  the  night  of  the  eighteenth  of  June  a  final  effort  was  made. 
This  also  failed.  Lieutenant  Nasmyth,  an  English  volunteer 
in  the  Turkish  service,  wrote  to  the  Times :  “  The  Russians 
had  sixty  guns  in  position  at  Silistria,  and  threw  upAvards  of 
fifty  thousand  shot  and  shell,  besides  an  incalculable  quantity 
of  small-arm  ammunition.  They  constructed  more  than  three 
miles  of  approaches  and  sprung  six  mines ;  yet  during  forty 
days  not  one  inch  of  ground  Avas  gained,  and  they  abandoned 
the  siege,  leaving  the  petty  field-work,  against  which  their 
principal  efforts  had  been  directed,  a  shapeless  mass  from  the 
effects  of  their  mines  and  batteries,  but  still  in  possession  of  its 
original  defenders.”  It  was  estimated  that  the  Russians  lost 
twelve  thousand  men  by  wounds  and  disease  at  the  siege  of 
Silistria. 

They  were  also  suffering  severely  in  their  occupation  of  the 
wilderness  of  Dobrudsha,  The  Dobrudsha  is  a  region  of 
which  the  soil  is  sandy,  allowing  water  to  sink  away  so  that 
brooks  and  springs  are  almost  unknown.  It  is  “  an  immeasur¬ 
able  expanse  covered  with  parched  blades  of  grass.  Nowhere, 
not  even  in  the  villages,  is  a  tree  or  a  shrub  to  be  found.” 
Malarial  fevers  are  prevalent  in  this  dreary  region,  especially 
during  the  hot  summer  months. 

EXPEDITION  INTO  THE  DOBRUDSHA:  THE  CHOLERA. 

On  the  nineteenth  of  July  Marshal  Saint  Arnaud  decided 
to  send  an  expedition  against  the  Russians  in  the  Dobrudsha. 
It  Avas  designed  as  an  experiment  to  occupy  the  minds  of  the 
soldiers,  and  accustom  them  to  enduring  the  toils  of  war  and 
long  marches.  The  marshal  also  desired  to  make  trial  of  a 
new  body  of  troops  which  he  had  just  incorporated.  Attached 
to  the  Bulgarian  army  were  tAventy  or  thirty  thousand  bashi- 
bazuks,  who,  at  their  own  expense,  fought,  either  on  horse  or 
on  foot,  under  the  Turkish  government.  It  occurred  to  Mar- 


1853-1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


149 


shal  Saint  Arnaud  to  form  these  irregulars  into  a  body  of  cav¬ 
alry,  under  French  officers  ;  they  would  then  be  able  to  do  good 
service  against  the  Cossacks.  On  the  sixth  of  July  the  num¬ 
ber  of  these  Oriental  Spahis,  as  they  were  called,  amounted  to 
almost  twenty-five  hundred  men,  well  armed  with  muskets  and 
lances.  One  division  of  the  French  army,  consisting  of  up¬ 
wards  of  ten  thousand  men,  left  their  camp  on  the  twenty-first 
of  July,  “  impatient  to  see  the  Russians,  glad,  joyous,  charmed, 
to  cross  woods,  brooks,  verdure-clad  ravines  ;  but  at  the  heights 
of  Baltchik  the  country  suddenly  changed.  From  that  point 
to  Kustendje  the  ground  sank  away  by  an  insensible  decline. 
Trees  failed ;  tall,  dry  grasses,  undulating  in  the  wind  like  the 
waves  of  the  sea,  took  their  places ;  no  more  running  streams 
were  to  be  seen,  but,  at  intervals,  brackish  pools,  neglected  wells, 
often  filled  up,  almost  always  fetid,  and  miserable,  deserted 
villages.  As  the  column  approached,  the  inhabitants  disap¬ 
peared  with  their  herds  into  the  depths  of  the  plain.  On  the 
twenty-fifth  of  J uly  the  division  encamped  near  Mangolia ; 
only  four  cases  of  cholera  had  occurred  since  they  started,  and 
those  at  the  first  stage.  On  the  twenty-sixth  the  distance  they 
marched  was  short,  but  on  the  two  following  days  it  was  a 
long  and  painful  journey  under  a  burning  sun.  On  the 
twenty-eighth  the  column,  passing  Kustendje,  stopped  at  the 
village  of  Pollas  near  a  pond.  Here  the  cholera  broke  out. 
Twenty-seven  men  were  sick  that  day.5’  The  first  regiment  of 
Zouaves  came  by  sea  to  Kustendje,  and  three  days  after  landing 
they  had  more  than  fifty  cases.  They  had  one  or  two  en¬ 
counters  with  the  Russians,  in  which  the  bashi-bazuks  acted 
without  discipline,  and  committed  such  excesses  that  their  com¬ 
mander,  General  Yusuf,  was  obliged  to  write  a  letter  in  the 
name  of  the  French  army,  disavowing  their  atrocities.  The 
order  was  given  to  retreat  to  Varna.  The  march  lasted  twenty 
days.  All  the  means  of  conveyance  were  encumbered  with  the 
sick ;  there  was  no  medicine,  and  nothing  to  drink  except  un¬ 
healthy  water.  Provisions  gave  out.  It  was  a  terrible  journey. 


150 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  VII. 


Of  the  men  who  engaged  in  this  unfortunate  expedition,  nearly 
twenty-five  hundred  perished,  and  another  thousand  had  to  be 
sent  back  to  France.  The  cholera  also  attacked  the  English 
forces,  and  spread  with  alarming  rapidity  throughout  all  the 
troops  at  Varna.  Marshal  Saint  Arnaud,  in  a  private  letter  to 
the  Secretary  of  War,  complained  bitterly  of  the  misfortunes 
of  the  army  :  “  The  cholera  is  overwhelming  and  decimating 
us.  Those  whom  it  spares  are  left  in  a  fearful  state  of  feeble¬ 
ness  and  enervation.  Up  to  this  time  I  have  lost  two  thou¬ 
sand,  and  nearly  five  thousand  are  sick.  We  must  escape  from 
this  sepulchre  of  Varna,  where  fevers,  already  threatening,  in  a 
month  will  succeed  the  cholera.” 

It  had  been  decided  to  strike  Russia  a  mortal  blow,  not  on 
the  Danube,  but  in  the  Crimea.  The  long  and  weary  delay  at 
Varna  had  been  caused  partly  by  the  entire  lack  of  prepara¬ 
tions  by  the  French  government,  and  partly  by  the  uncertainty 
which  Austria  showed  in  regard  to  entering  into  the  armed 
alliance.  But  a  month  after  the  Crimean  expedition  was  fully 
determined  upon,  Lord  Raglan  and  Marshal  Saint  Arnaud 
received  word  that  Baron  von  Hess  was  expecting  orders  from 
Francis  Joseph  to  attack  the  Russian  right  wing  in  Moldavia 
in  September,  and  was  desirous  that  the  three  allied  armies 
should  co-operate  with  him  in  driving  the  Russians  from  the 
Principalities  by  simultaneously  attacking  their  left  flank.  But 
the  two  commanders  felt  obliged  courteously  and  firmly  to  de¬ 
cline  the  invitation.  The  climate  of  the  Danube  valley  was  so 
deleterious  to  their  soldiers  that  it  seemed  too  great  a  responsi¬ 
bility  to  carry  on  a  campaign  in  such  a  difficult  country,  and 
the  indigenous  cavalry,  which  might  have  done  excellent  ser¬ 
vice,  was  rendered  useless  by  Turkish  fanaticism  and  their 
unwillingness  to  serve  under  French  “  giaours.”  It  was  there¬ 
fore  decided  to  break  up  the  camp  at  Varna  and  carry  the  war 
to  the  Crimea.  On  the  twenty-fourth  of  August  Marshal  Saint 
Arnaud  wrote  to  the  Minister  of  War  :  “  When  you  read  this 
letter,  the  army  will  be  at  sea  on  its  way  to  the  Crimea.  On 


1853-1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


151 


the  second  of  September  these  magnificent  fleets,  in  company, 
will  weigh  anchor  at  Baltchik,  the  general  rendezvous,  and 
bear  away  to  Sevastopol.  All  my  plans  are  matured  ;  I  think 
nothing  has  been  forgotten,  nothing  neglected  which  could 
assure  success,  and  I  am  confident  that  we  shall  not  fail.  May 
Heaven  only  grant  us  fair  weather  and  a  smooth  sea.  Now  it 
is  necessary  to  think  of  the  future.  The  undertaking  is  im¬ 
mense,  and  the  object  makes  difficulties  of  small  moment. 
Therefore  I  want  to  strike  the  blow ;  but  I  have  no  idea  that 
the  Russians  will  abandon  this  magnificent  booty  without  a 
struggle.  Menshikof  is  brave  and  headstrong.  We  shall  have 
much  to  do.  Gaps  will  be  made  in  our  ranks ;  we  must  de¬ 
vise  means  to  fill  them.  I  do  not  want  to  spend  an  eternity 
before  Sevastopol,  and  allow  the  Russian  armies  to  come  by 
way  of  Perekop  to  dispute  my  conquest.  I  desire  to  take 
Sevastopol  in  all  haste,  to  get  the  mastery  of  the  Crimea,  so  as 
to  choose  a  good  field  in  which  to  await  the  Russians,  if,  in¬ 
deed,  I  do  not  manage  to  blockade  the  port  of  Perekop.  This 
word  Sevastopol  has  had  a  magic  effect.  Every  one  has  re¬ 
vived,  the  coldest  have  become  enthusiastic;  this  spirit  is 
gaining  ground,  and  the  cannon  will  do  the  rest.” 

The  fleet  destined  to  carry  the  French  army  to  the  Crimea 
amounted,  in  all,  to  one  hundred  and  seventy-two  ships ;  nine 
frigates  bore  the  Turkish  division ;  the  English  fleet  was  com¬ 
posed  of  ten  ships  of  the  line,  fifteen  steam-frigates,  and  one 
hundred  and  fifty  magnificent  transports.  On  the  seventh  of 
September,  after  several  delays,  the  united  squadron  proceeded 
to  the  Crimea.  Several  days  before  they  were  encouraged  by 
the  news  of  the  capture  of  the  fortress  of  Bomarsund  on  the 
sixteenth  of  August.  Bomarsund  was  the  key  to  the  Gulf  of 
Bothnia,  and  was  garrisoned  by  more  than  two  thousand  men. 
The  Russians  decided  to  evacuate  the  Principalities  which 
were  then  occupied  by  the  Austrians,  according  to  an  agree¬ 
ment  with  Europe  and  the  Sultan.  The  war  on  the  Danube 
was  ended.  The  Crimean  war  had  begun  ! 


152 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  VII. 


THE  CRIMEA.  —  THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  ALMA. 

The  Crimea,  known  to  the  ancients  as  the  Tauric  Chersonese, 
is  a  quadrangular  peninsula,  bathed  on  the  north  by  the  Sea 
of  Azof,  and  on  the  other  three  sides  by  the  Black  Sea.  It  is 
united  to  the  mainland  by  the  isthmus  of  Perekop,  which  the 
allies  intended  to  occupy.  The  shallowness  of  the  Bay  of 
Perekop,  however,  and  the  entire  absence  of  water  on  the  isth¬ 
mus,  made  this  seem  impracticable.  Communication  with  the 
continent,  moreover,  is  easily  effected  by  the  long,  narrow 
tongue  of  Arabat,  which  separates  the  Sea  of  Azof  from  the 
Sivash  or  Putrid  Sea,  and  reaches  to  within  a  hundred  meters 
of  the  mainland,  a  distance  easily  crossed  by  boat.  This  is  the 
usual  route  to  Kertch  or  Theodosia.  Parther  to  the  west  a 
bridge  over  the  Putrid  Sea  connects  the  peninsula  of  Tchongar 
with  the  Crimea. 

The  southern  portion  of  the  Crimea  is  occupied  by  three 
parallel  lines  of  mountains,  of  which  the  one  farthest  to  the 
south  is  the  loftiest.  All  the  mountains  form  a  precipitous 
wall  on  the  southern  side,  but  slope  gently  toward  the  north. 
The  summits  are  level  plateaux  •  the  most  important,  Tchatir- 
Dagh,  rises  fifteen  hundred  and  sixty  meters  above  the  level  of 
the  sea.  This  whole  region  is  well  provided  with  rivers  and 
streams ;  the  Salgir  runs  northeast  into  the  Putrid  Sea ;  the 
Tchernaia,  or  Black  River,  emptying  into  the  harbor  of  Se¬ 
vastopol  ;  the  Belbek,  the  Katcha,  and  the  Alma  run  west. 
The  southern  Crimea  is  picturesque,  well-wooded,  and  its  val¬ 
leys  are  perfect  gardens.  A  level  plain,  or  steppe,  occupies  the 
remaining  two  thirds  of  the  peninsula.  In  spring  and  autumn 
it  is  verdant,  in  summer  bare  and  burnt,  in  winter  covered 
deep  with  snow.  This  region  is  inhabited  by  bands  of  Tar¬ 
tars,  who  keep  their  flocks  and  are  peaceful  and  kind.  Their 
number  at  the  time  of  the  Crimean  war  was  about  two  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifty-seven  thousand,  out  of  a  population  of  four  hun¬ 
dred  and  thirty  thousand,  composed,  for  the  rest,  of  Turks, 


1853-1865.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


153 


Bulgarians,  Armenians,  Jews,  Germans,  and  Russians.  In  the 
interior  of  the  Crimea  are  only  three  cities :  Simferopol,  the 
capital  of  the  province,  Baktchi-Sarai,  and  Karasubazar ;  on 
the  sea-coast  there  are  six  :  Eupatoria,  on  the  Bay  of  Kalamita, 
Sevastopol,  and  Balaklava,  Theodosia  or  Kaffa,  Kertch,  and 
Ienikale.  The  only  road  really  worthy  of  the  name  was  the 
one  constructed  by  Prince  Vorontsof,  which  reached  from  Sim¬ 
feropol  to  Sevastopol,  by  way  of  Alushta,  through  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  countries  in  the  world. 

The  Russian  army  in  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-four  had 
an  available  force  of  seven  hundred  thousand  men  distributed 
on  a  line  of  two  thousand  kilometers  from  the  Gulf  of  Bothnia 
to  the  Caspian  Sea.  There  were  two  hundred  and  seven  thou¬ 
sand  in  Finland,  around  Saint  Petersburg,  and  along  the  Bal¬ 
tic  to  the  Prussian  frontier ;  one  hundred  and  forty  thousand 
in  Poland,  one  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  in  Bessarabia 
and  on  the  Danube,  thirty-two  thousand  near  Odessa  and 
Nikolaief,  thirty-nine  thousand  in  the  Crimea,  forty-six 
thousand  between  the  Don  and  the  Caucasus,  and  fifty-five 
thousand  on  the  frontier  of  Turkey  in  Asia.  In  September, 
eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-four,  there  were  really  fifty-one 
thousand  men  in  the  Crimea,  twelve  thousand  of  whom  were 
at  Kertch  and  Ienikale  under  the  command  of  General  Kho- 
mutof,  who  was  charged  with  the  defence  of  the  eastern  part  of 
the  peninsula.  Prince  Menshikof,  with  thirty-three  thousand 
foot-soldiers,  twenty-seven  hundred  cavalry,  twelve  hundred 
Cossacks,  and  seventeen  hundred  artillery  men,  defended  Se¬ 
vastopol.  The  majority  of  the  infantry  was  encamped  near 
Sevastopol ;  the  sixteen  battalions,  with  thirty -two  field-pieces 
and  six  hundred  Cossacks,  were  distributed  between  the 
Katcha  and  the  Alma.  The  destruction  of  the  fleet  brought 
eighteen  or  nineteen  thousand  excellent  sailors  into  the  land 
service. 

It  was  evident  that  the  Russian  government  had  no  especial 
anxiety  about  the  expedition  to  the  Crimea,  although  the  Eng- 


154 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  VII. 


lish  press  had  intimated  the  probability  of  it.  Odessa  was 
considered  far  more  likely  to  be  the  objective  point  of  the  at¬ 
tack.  Prince  Menshikof  was  surprised  on  the  tenth  of  Sep¬ 
tember  to  see  four  ships  bearing  the  French  and  English  flags 
approach  Sevastopol.  His  surprise  was  changed  to  apprehen¬ 
sion  when,  three  days  later,  a  thick  cloud  of  black  smoke,  as 
it  were,  precipitated  a  countless  host  of  hostile  ships. 

The  allies  decided  to  disembark  at  Eupatoria,  and  the  land* 
ing  was  completed  on  the  fourteenth  of  September,  the  anniver¬ 
sary  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte’s  entrance  into  Moscow.  On  the 
nineteenth  the  armies  began  their  march  against  Sevastopol. 
After  a  march  of  sixteen  kilometers,  through  a  dry  and  undu¬ 
lating  country  which  showed  some  signs  of  cultivation,  they 
reached  the  banks  of  the  Bulgarak,  where  they  encamped  for 
the  night  after  a  slight  skirmish  with  Cossack  cavalry.  On 
the  morning  of  the  twentieth  the  signal-gun  fired  from  the 
fleet  was  answered  by  drums  and  trumpets  in  the  allied 
armies,  while  from  the  heights  of  the  Alma  floated  down  the 
sound  of  Russian  hymns,  and  the  popes  with  their  crosses 
were  seen  passing  to  and  fro,  sprinkling  the  kneeling  hosts 
with  holy  water. 

As  soon  as  Prince  Menshikof  had  known  of  the  occupation 
of  Eupatoria  and  the  arrangements  for  landing  the  allied 
armies,  he  sent  for  aid  from  General  Khomutof  at  Theo¬ 
dosia,  and  at  the  same  time  posted  as  strong  a  force  as  was 
possible  upon  the  heights  of  the  Alma.  The  river  runs  from 
east  to  west  through  a  narrow  canon  covered  with  trees  and 
bushes.  A  timber  bridge,  on  which  the  road  from  Eupatoria 
crossed  the  Alma,  had  been  partially  destroyed,  but  the  stream 
was  fordable,  except  at  the  latter  part  of  its  course.  There 
were  three  villages,  or  groups  of  houses,  on  the  right  bank, 
buried  in  gardens  and  vineyards,  —  Tarkhanlar,  Burliuk,  Al- 
matamak.  The  descent  from  the  heights  to  the  Alma  was 
steep ;  it  was  almost  impossible  to  reach  the  terrace  above 
Almatamak. 


1853  —  1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


155 


The  weakest  point,  Prince  Menshikof’s  position,  was  an 
open  gap  opposite  Burliuk,  through  which  led  the  road  from 
Eupatoria ;  and  here  he  stationed  his  strongest  batteries.  The 
total  of  the  army  on  the  heights  of  the  Alma  was  between 
thirty-five  and  forty  thousand  men,  with  ninety-six  cannon. 
Prince  Gortchakof  commanded  the  right  wing,  composed  of 
sixteen  battalions.  He  had  also  charge  of  the  centre,  sustained 
by  the  four  battalions  of  Borodino.  General  Kiriakof  com¬ 
manded  the  left  wing,  consisting  of  the  regiments  of  Bielostok 
and  Biest,  with  those  of  Tarutino  and  Moscow. 

The  attack  had  been  ordered  to  begin  early  in  the  morning, 
but,  owing  to  delay  in  the  British  camp,  it  was  nearly  one 
o’clock  before  General  Bosquet  could  get  his  column  in  march¬ 
ing  order.  A  detachment  crossed  the  river  by  the  shallow 
bar  near  its  mouth,  and,  clambering  up  the  almost  perpendicu¬ 
lar  face  of  the  cliff,  surprised  the  Russian  flank  who  retired 
toward  the  centre.  The  Russian  generals  could  not  at  first  be¬ 
lieve  the  evidence  of  their  eyes,  but  Menshikof,  seeing  that  his 
left  wing  was  in  danger,  sent  the  Moscow  regiment  and  soon 
after  half  of  the  general  reserve ;  but  the  main  body  of  the 
French  had  now  reached  the  plateau,  and  upon  them  depended 
the  result  of  the  day.  If  they  succeeded  in  forcing  back  the 
Russians  the  game  was  theirs,  but  there  was  no  retreat  for 
them.  The  precipitate  face  of  the  plateau  prevented  any  hope 
of  escape  if  they  were  repulsed.  But  just  at  the  critical  mo¬ 
ment  Marshal  Saint  Arnaud,  seeing  the  position  of  General 
Bosquet’s  Hussars,  sent  the  first  and  third  divisions  to  his 
assistance.  They  crossed  the  Alma  by  the  new  fords  discovered 
by  the  sharpshooters,  and  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  the  Russian 
artillery  to  prevent  them,  succeeded  in  reaching  the  level 
plateau.  The  Russians  were  now  drawn  back  in  confusion ; 
the  regiments  of  Minsk  and  Moscow  had  lost  more  than  fifteen 
hundred  men,  together  with  their  colonels  and  the  majority  of 
their  other  officers.  A  final  encounter  took  place  near  the  tele« 
graph  station,  but  this  was  decided  in  favor  of  the  French. 


156 


HISTORY  OP  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  VII. 


The  Russian  battalions  retreated  in  good  order  toward  Sevasto¬ 
pol.  But  while  the  contest  was  thus  decided  on  the  plateau, 
there  was  still  some  doubt  of  the  sequel  on  the  other  side  of 
the  ravine.  The  English  division,  under  command  of  the  Duke 
of  Cambridge,  had  renewed  the  attack  upon  the  fortification 
built  on  the  slope  of  the  bank  above  Burliuk.  Prince  Gort- 
chakof  encouraged  the  Russians  by  his  presence ;  his  coat  was 
riddled  with  bullets  and  his  horse  was  killed  under  him  as  he 
led  the  battalions  of  Vladimir  to  the  charge.  The  British  line 
began  to  give  way ;  the  retreat  in  a  moment  would  have  been 
general,  as  the  Russians  with  wild  yells  rushed  forward,  bayo¬ 
nets  in  hand,  had  not  Marshal  Saint  Arnaud,  hearing  of  the 
resistance  offered  by  the  Russians,  sent  several  batteries  to  the 
assistance  of  his  allies.  The  raking  fire  was  too  terrible  to 
withstand.  When  the  order  came  from  Prince  Menshikof  for 
the  regiment  of  Vladimir  to  give  up  their  post  behind  the 
fortification,  where  they  took  refuge,  only  ten  officers  were  left ; 
all  the  rest  were  killed  or  wounded.  It  was  four  o’clock ;  the 
soldiers  of  the  allied  armies  had  not  eaten  since  morning ;  they 
were  too  weary  to  follow  the  retreating  Russians.  The  battle 
had  lasted  three  hours,  and  the  total  loss  on  the  Russian  side 
had  been  more  than  fifty-seven  hundred  men,  while  the  Erench 
lost  thirteen  hundred  and  the  English  two  thousand.  All 
three  armies  covered  themselves  with  glory.  Marshal  Saint  Ar¬ 
naud  gave  his  enemy  credit  for  bravery  and  discipline,  but  he 
criticised  their  tactics  as  being,  like  those  of  the  English,  fifty 
years  behind  the  times.  “  Just  as  Lord  Raglan  was  the  pupil 
of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  so  Prince  Menshikof  followed  the 
rules  laid  down  by  Suvorof  for  the  use  of  Kutusof.”  On  a 
Champ  de  Mars  the  manoeuvres  of  the  masses  of  infantry 
would  have  been  marvellous  for  precision,  but  on  the  battle¬ 
field  the  slowness  and  precision  proved  their  ruin.  Quicker 
action  would  have  prevented  the  Prench  division  of  Canrobert 
from  setting  foot  on  the  plateau. 

Just  before  the  allied  armies  reached  the  Crimea  the  Em- 


1853-1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


157 


peror  Nicholas,  convinced  that  a  new  system  of  tactics  was  de¬ 
sirable  for  his  armies  in  order  to  give  them  greater  mobility, 
issued  the  necessary  regulations,  but,  as  they  were  not  fully 
understood,  they  caused  confusion  and  disorder  and  led  to  the 
loss  of  the  battle. 

On  the  night  after  their  defeat  the  Russians  encamped  on 
the  Katcha ;  they  blamed  their  carbines  and  their  rifles ; 
they  were  angry  but  not  discouraged.  The  next  day  they 
continued  their  retreat,  and  pitched  their  tents  south  of  Se¬ 
vastopol. 

The  battle  of  the  Alma  was  a  thunderbolt  to  Russia.  Since 
eighteen  hundred  and  twelve  no  enemy  had  landed  on  its  soil ; 
the  Crimea,  protected  by  a  formidable  fleet,  impregnable  for¬ 
tresses,  and  a  numerous  army,  seemed  secure  from  all  attacks. 
Now  the  army  was  beaten,  and  the  Black  Sea  fleet  which  had 
retreated  to  the  harbor  of  Sevastopol  served  only  to  obstruct 
the  channel. 

SEVASTOPOL. 

“  The  traveller  who  comes  from  the  northern  coasts  along  the 
western  shore  of  the  Crimea  is  obliged  to  make  a  long  detour 
around  a  spur  projecting  to  the  southwest  from  the  mountain¬ 
ous  region  of  the  peninsula.  A  light-house  stands  on  the  ex¬ 
treme  point  of  this  sharp  Cape  Chersonese.  It  occupies  the 
apex  of  a  triangle,  which  is  washed  on  two  sides  by  the  Black 
Sea,  and  is  cut  off  on  the  east  by  the  abrupt  crags  to  which  the 
Russians  have  given  the  name  of  Mount  Sapun.  The  terri¬ 
tory  included  between  these  crags  and  the  sea  is  called  the 
Plateau  of  Chersonese,  a  soil  henceforth  historic  and  sacred,  be¬ 
cause  it  served  as  the  intrenched  camp  for  the  armies  of  France 
and  England,  and  thither  came  three  of  the  greatest  nations  of 
the  world  to  end  their  disputes,  as  it  were,  in  lists ;  and  there 
thousands  of  heroic  soldiers,  who  fought  for  the  possession  of 
Sevastopol,  sleep  their  last  sleep. 

“  The  geometric  extent  of  the  plateau  is  about  one  hundred 


158 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  VII 


and  twenty-five  square  kilometers ;  its  greatest  elevation  is 
nearly  three  hundred  meters,  with  a  general  slope  from  south¬ 
east  to  northwest.  This  is  the  direction  also  of  the  numerous 
ravines  which  furrow  its  surface,  and  whose  outlets  form  a  suc¬ 
cession  of  creeks,  some  running  up  from  the  open  sea,  others 
from  the  deep  inland  gulf  which  serves  as  a  harbor  for  the 
port  of  Sevastopol.  The  contrast  between  this  hospitable 
northern  shore  and  the  inaccessible  cliffs  on  the  south  is  as 
striking  as  possible. 

“  It  sometimes  happens  that  several  ravines  unite  in  forming 
a  single  creek.  The  largest  are  in  reality  enormous  clefts 
whose  bare  sides,  like  ruined  walls,  expose  to  view  the  lime¬ 
stone  foundations  a  hundred  meters  thick,  on  which  rests  the 
thin  layer  of  earth  which  barely  covers  the  plateau.  Such,  for 
example,  is  the  largest  of  the  three  ravines  whose  common 
mouth,  called  the  South  Bay,  twenty-four  hundred  meters  long 
and  four  hundred  wide,  deservedly  became  the  principal  mili¬ 
tary  port  of  Russia  on  the  Black  Sea.  On  the  left  bank  of  this 
bay  were  laid  the  foundations  of  Sevastopol  not  a  hundred 
years  ago. 

“  The  houses,  constructed  at  first  on  the  narrow  ridge  which 
preserves  the  name  of  City  Mountain,  have  gradually  crept 
westward  down  to  the  lower  level  of  the  valley  into  which  opens 
Artillery  Bay,  and  have  even  climbed  up  the  opposite  slope, 
so  that  the  Artillery  quarter  has  finally  crowned  the  other  side 
of  the  valley,  now  called  the  Central  or  City  Ravine.  The 
marine  establishment,  in  order  to  give  room  for  the  growing 
demands  of  the  fleet,  have  been  transported  to  the  other  side  of 
the  port,  and  on  the  right  bank  has  grown  up  the  Karabelnaia 
quarter  around  the  bay  having  the  same  name.  Barracks, 
hospitals,  magazines,  workshops  of  all  sorts  have  rapidly  covered 
this  western  part  of  Sevastopol ;  basins  have  been  hollowed  out, 
dry  docks,  large  enough  for  the  largest  ships,  have  been  con¬ 
structed,  immense  earthworks  undertaken,  and  enormous  foun¬ 
dations  prepared  for  the  great  palace  destined  to  replace  the 


1853-1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


159 


ancient  admiralty,  which,  built  in  the  infancy  of  the  city,  was 
now  unsuitable. 

4 4  Seen  from  the  western  side  of  the  harbor,  Sevastopol  de¬ 
lighted  the  eye  and  the  mind  with  a  most  attractive  and  varied 
spectacle,  as  it  lay  spread  out  on  the  slopes  of  the  City  Moun¬ 
tain,  cut  through  by  its  two  magnificent  streets,  lined  with 
elegant  houses  built  of  handsome  white  stone,  gay  with  gar¬ 
dens  and  green  boulevards  in  the  daytime,  lighted  in  the  even¬ 
ing  by  innumerable  gleams  of  gas,  while  its  arsenals,  its 
quays,  and  its  port  were  filled  with  life  and  animation. 

“Numerous  churches  lifted  their  cupolas  above  the  public 
and  private  edifices  of  the  city.  This  soil,  venerated  by  the 
Russians  as  holy  ground,  had  been  pressed  under  foot  toward 
the  end  of  the  tenth  century  by  the  first  Christians  of  their  race. 
It  was  in  the  ancient  city  of  Kherson,  subjugated  by  his  arms, 
that  the  Grand  Prince  Vladimir  made  his  profession  of  Chris¬ 
tianity  in  nine  hundred  and  eighty-eight.  At  a  distance  of 
two  kilometers  west  of  Sevastopol,  on  the  heights  overlooking 
the  Quarantine  Bay,  among  the  ruins  left  by  the  different  gen¬ 
erations  who  have  occupied  in  succession  this  corner  of  the 
world,  —  from  the  Greeks  to  the  Genoese,  —  a  church  dedi¬ 
cated  to  Saint  Vladimir  is  built  on  the  place  where  the  Pagan 
conqueror,  won  over  to  the  faith  of  his  enemies,  received  bap¬ 
tism.’’ 

While  Sevastopol  was  well  protected  on  the  water  side  by 
Port  Quarantine,  by  Port  Konstantin  on  the  north,  and  Port 
Alexander  on  the  south,  and  by  four  other  strong  casemated 
fortresses,  —  so  that  a  ship  trying  to  enter  the  harbor  would 
be  exposed  to  the  cross-fire  of  six  hundred  guns,  —  on  the 
land  side  it  was  almost  defenceless. 

The  Emperor  Nicholas  in  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-seven 
had  designed  a  plan  for  fortifying  the  city.  A  line  of  eight 
bastions,  four  to  the  west  and  four  to  the  east,  connected  by  a 
crenellated  wall,  the  whole  extending  a  distance  of  seven  kilo¬ 
meters,  was  to  be  built.  But  now,  more  than  sixteen  years 


160 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  VII. 


after  the  Emperor’s  visit,  only  one  bastion  was  completed,  and 
that  the  nearest  to  the  harbor ;  a  few  slight  attempts  had  been 
made  to  trace  the  connecting  walls,  but  the  vast  design  was 
scarcely  more  than  begun. 

When  in  the  spring  of  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-four  the 
European  journal  spoke  of  the  probabilities  of  attacking  Se¬ 
vastopol,  the  Russians  looked  upon  the  idea  as  chimerical,  but 
in  order  to  be  on  the  safe  side,  work  was  resumed  on  the  bas¬ 
tions  crowning  the  heights  according  to  the  original  plan.  On 
the  hill  of  Bambor  an  earthwork  like  a  redan  was  formed, 
capable  of  holding  seven  cannon.  A  thousand  meters  distant, 
on  the  summit  of  the  Malakof  hill,  the  engineers  of  the  marine 
corps  finished  a  sort  of  round  tower,  ten  meters  high  and 
about  forty-five  in  circumference.  An  earth  embankment  in 
the  form  of  a  semicircle  surrounded  this  at  some  distance,  and 
protected  the  masonry.  Earther  to  the  north  there  were  two 
earthworks,  and  these  four  fortifications  completed  the  defence 
of  the  Karabelnai'a.  Out  of  one  hundred  and  forty-five  can¬ 
non  distributed  over  the  seven  kilometers  from  the  Quarantine 
to  the  Careening  Bay  only  forty  belonged  to  this  part  of  the 
defence. 

When  the  victory  of  the  Alma  opened  to  the  allies  the  way 
to  Sevastopol,  and  after  the  first  moment’s  surprise  had  passed, 
the  Russians  set  to  work  to  repair  years  of  carelessness  and 
official  peculation.  “  Sevastopol,  by  the  character  of  its  popu¬ 
lation,  was  particularly  well  fitted  for  resistance.  It  was  less 
a  city  than  a  military  colony ;  of  its  forty-two  thousand  in¬ 
habitants,  thirty-five  thousand  belonged  to  the  army  and  navy ; 
the  remainder,  artisans  and  merchants,  were  dependent  on  the 
former  for  their  labor  or  trade.  There  were  few  women, 
scarcely  five  thousand,  and  all  were  wonted  to  the  robust  and 
healthy  activity  of  a  seafaring  people.  Thus  there  were  no 
lazy  throngs  nor  unemployed  classes,  —  the  usual  elements  of 
disorder ;  there  were  no  political  divisions  and  no  social  antago¬ 
nism  ;  in  a  word,  there  was  no  internal  enemy  against  which 


1863-1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


101 


the  defence  had  to  take  precautions  or  leave  forces  to  protect 
the  rear.  On  the  contrary,  the  mental  discipline  was  easy  and 
sure,  because  two  great  principles,  patriotism  and  religious 
faith,  were  brought  into  play.  The  military  chiefs  could  call 
upon  God  and  the  guardian  saints  of  the  city  without  being 
blamed  or  ridiculed  for  weakness.  They  were  respected  be¬ 
cause  they  were  real  models  of  patriotic  devotion  and  moral 
excellence.  It  was  not  that  the  leading  spirit,  Prince  Menshi- 
kof,  was  popular ;  his  exalted  rank,  his  icy  dignity,  his  sever¬ 
ity,  repelled  rather  than  attracted  men.  They  had  not  yet 
had  sufficient  time  to  become  accustomed  to  him  and  to  un¬ 
derstand  him.  It  was  the  two  vice-admirals,  his  principal 
lieutenants,  Nakhimof,  acting  commander  of  the  fleet,  and 
especially  Kornilof,  the  head  of  the  marine  staff,  who  won  the 
sympathy  and  confidence  of  all ;  but  neither  of  them  had  ever 
sought  or  bought  popularity  by  any  favoritism.  Besides  these 
two  names,  dear  to  the  Russian  sailor,  we  must  add  that  of 
an  officer  of  engineers,  a  new-comer,  who  quickly  won  the 
esteem  and  gratitude  of  the  public.  Sent  from  the  army  of 
the  Danube  to  the  Crimean  army,  and  arriving  only  at  Sevas¬ 
topol  on  the  twenty-second  of  August,  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Todleben  had  just  joined  Prince  Menshikof’s  staff  when  the 
event  of  the  fourteenth  of  September  and  its  consequences  sud¬ 
denly  brought  him  into  notice  and  gave  him  immediately  a 
principal  part  to  play  in  the  defence.” 

Kornilof  was  anxious  to  take  the  whole  squadron,  and,  if 
possible,  surprise  the  enemies’  fleet  moored  near  Cape  Lukul. 
He  thought  that  thus  he  might  disperse  the  armada  and  cut 
off  the  victors  of  the  Alma  from  their  source  of  supplies.  At  any 
rate,  each  one  of  the  Russian  captains  might  select  one  of  the 
most  formidable  of  the  Prench  or  English  ships  and  blow  up  his 
own  ship  and  his  adversary.  But  Prince  Menshikof  and  the 
council  of  war  vetoed  this  proceeding,  and  Kornilof  was  obliged 
to  sink  seven  vessels  at  the  mouth  of  the  harbor.  Seven 
months’  provisions,  three  thousand  cannon,  and  eighteen  thou- 

9 


TOL.  III. 


162 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  VII. 


sand  men  eager  to  avenge  the  ruin  of  the  fleet  were  trans¬ 
ferred  to  the  land  service.  Since  the  fourteenth  of  September 
the  Russians  had  not  ceased  to  labor  night  and  day  at  the  de¬ 
fences.  In  a  very  short  time,  thanks  to  their  marvellous  ac¬ 
tivity,  the  stony  soil  of  the  Chersonesus  was  raised  in  redoubts 
and  in  ramparts  crowned  with  fascines.  The  bastions  of  the 
Centre,  of  the  Flagstaff,  of  the  two  Redans,  and  of  the  Malakof, 
all  afterwards  so  celebrated,  bristled  with  the  guns  taken  from 
the  navy.  Admirals  Kornilof,  Istomin,  and  Nakhimof,  all  of 
whom  were  to  die  on  the  bastion  of  the  Malakof,  directed  the 
defence. 

On  the  twenty-fourth  of  September  Prince  Menshikof  aban¬ 
doned  his  position  to  the  south  of  Sevastopol  and  encamped 
his  army  near  Baktchi-sara'i.  He  was  afraid  lest  his  commu¬ 
nications  with  Simferopol  and  Southern  Russia  would  be  cut 
off. 

He  left  to  defend  the  city  a  total  of  thirty  thousand  men. 
Lieutenant-General  Moller  had  charge  of  the  city  and  the 
Karabelna’ia ;  Kornilof  commanded  the  northern  fortification 
and  the  western  side  of  the  harbor.  He  was  expecting  every 
moment  the  assault  of  the  enemy,  when,  to  his  surprise,  they 
deserted  the  Belbek,  and  made  the  plateau  of  the  Chersonesus 
their  objective  point.  Assisted  by  Todleben,  he  took  charge 
of  the  defence ;  soldiers,  sailors,  merchants,  women,  and  chil¬ 
dren  lent  a  helping  hand ;  six  thousand  men  labored  with  all 
energy  on  the  earthworks.  At  night  they  were  relieved  by  a 
squad  of  three  thousand  distributed  along  the  whole  line.  It 
is  still  thought  by  many  officers  that  at  this  time  a  bold  march 
of  the  allies  on  Sevastopol  would  have  made  them  masters  of 
the  town.  “  During  the  night  of  the  twenty-sixth  an  alarm 
was  raised.  A  battalion  of  the  regiment  of  Tarutino  entering 
into  the  city  was  mistaken  for  a  hostile  band,  and  had  it  really 
been  what  it  was  supposed  to  be,  the  fortress  of  Sevastopol 
would  have  run  some  risk.  The  next  morning  the  priests  of 
the  principal  churches  were  asked  by  Kornilof  to  bless  the  in- 


BALAKLAVA 


1853-1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


163 


habitants  and  the  troops ;  they  passed  in  solemn  procession 
along  the  lines ;  behind  them  rode  the  admiral,  haranguing 
marines  and  soldiers.  “  Children,”  said  he,  “  we  are  to  fight 
the  enemy  to  the  last  extremity.  Each  one  of  us  must  die  at 
his  post.  Kill  the  man  who  dares  to  speak  of  going  back.  If 
I  order  you  to  retreat,  kill  me.” 

On  the  twenty-sixth  of  September  the  English  had  taken 
possession  of  Balaklava,  and  the  French  were  encamped  on  the 
Fediukhin  heights,  which  rose  above  the  right  bank  of  the 
Tchernaia,  and  looked  down  on  the  undulating  plain  of  Balak¬ 
lava.  It  was  found  that  the  port  of  Balaklava  was  not  of  suffi¬ 
cient  size  to  accommodate  both  fleets,  and  by  the  advice  of  a 
captain  acquainted  with  the  region,  the  French  fleet  was  trans¬ 
ferred  to  the  harbor  of  Kamiezh,  which  proved  to  be  more 
convenient  and  suitable  than  that  of  Balaklava. 

It  had  been  agreed  upon  that,  while  the  army  of  observation 
should  protect  the  approaches  of  Balaklava  and  Mount  Sapun 
with  field-works,  the  rest  of  the  troops  should  begin  the  attack 
of  the  military  port,  the  English  concentrating  their  action  on 
the  Great  Redan,  opposite  the  Karabelnaia,  the  French  against 
the  Flagstaff  Battery.  Balaklava  was  naturally  protected 
on  the  east  and  west;  the  English  had,  therefore,  to  defend 
only  the  north  side.  On  the  night  of  the  ninth  of  October  the 
first  intrenchments  were  begun.  At  six  o’clock  in  the  morn¬ 
ing  the  French  had  dug  a  line  of  trenches  a  thousand  meters 
long,  capable  of  sheltering  a  man  erect.  The  English,  during 
the  same  time,  had  formed  their  trench  about  twelve  hundred 
meters  distant  from  the  Great  Redan.  Batteries  also  were 
constructed  and  fortified  with  cannon  of  heavy  calibre.  The 
seventeenth  of  October  was  set  for  the  first  bombardment. 

The  French  army  at  this  time  amounted  to  forty-two  thou¬ 
sand  men,  besides  a  division  of  five  thousand  Turks.  The 
English  had  twenty-two  thousand.  On  the  other  hand,  Prince 
Menshikof,  during  the  first  days  of  October,  added  thirty  bat¬ 
talions  to  the  garrison  of  Sevastopol.  The  French  batteries 


164 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  YII. 


were  armed  with  forty-nine  cannon,  the  English  on  Mount 
Vorontsof  and  the  Green  Mountain  had  seventy-three.  The 
Russians  could  answer  the  French  with  sixty-four  pieces,  the 
English  with  only  fifty-four,  although  the  ramparts  were  pro¬ 
vided  with  more  than  treble  that  number. 

On  the  morning  of  the  seventeenth  of  October,  at  six  and 
one  half  o’clock,  the  allies  began  the  bombardment,  which  lasted 
for  more  than  three  hours  without  special  result,  when  the  ex¬ 
plosion  of  a  powder-magazine  and  the  terrible  cannonade  of 
the  Russians  finally  silenced  the  French  batteries.  The  Eng¬ 
lish,  being  more  advantageously  placed,  were  more  successful, 
and  the  ruins  of  the  Malakof  tower  and  of  the  Great  Redan 
proved  the  effect  of  the  forty-seven  hundred  projectiles  which  the 
English  guns  had  thrown.  Taken  as  a  whole  the  advantage 
of  the  day  belonged  to  the  Russians ;  the  fleet  which  entered 
into  a  contest  with  the  batteries  on  the  shore  had  retired 
worsted  ;  the  French  batteries  were  reduced  to  inactivity,  and 
the  damages  inflicted  by  the  English  were  repaired  in  twelve 
hours,  under  the  enemy’s  fire.  It  was  on  this  seventeenth  of 
October  that  the  brave  Admiral  Kornilof  was  killed  by  a  can¬ 
non-ball.  His  last  words  were :  “  My  God,  bless  Russia  and 
the  Emperor !  Save  Sevastopol  and  the  fleet.”  For  three 
days  longer  the  bombardment  continued  without  further  re¬ 
sult  than  the  expenditure  of  vast  quantities  of  ammunition,  and 
the  loss  of  many  of  the  combatants  on  both  sides.  During  all 
this  time  a  force  of  two  or  three  thousand  men  worked  each 
night  at  the  difficult  and  dangerous  task  of  bringing  the  ap¬ 
proaches  nearer  the  Russian  lines.  On  the  twenty-fifth  of 
October  the  French  parallels  were  within  three  hundred  and 
sixty  meters  of  the  Flagstaff  Battery,  while  the  English 
second  parallel,  barely  traced  as  yet,  brought  them  within 
nine  hundred  meters  of  the  Great  Redan. 

The  English  army,  badly  sheltered,  ill-provided  with  suit¬ 
able  clothes,  exposed  to  all  sorts  of  privations,  was  suffering  a 
diminution  of  more  than  a  hundred  men  a  day ;  at  the  same 


1858-1855  : 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


165 


time  the  Russian  army,  with  which  the  beleaguered  city  was  in 
perfectly  free  communication,  was  being  largely  augmented. 
The  Tsar  had  gradually  withdrawn  from  the  Principalities 
the  army  of  occupation,  and  the  attitude  of  the  Austrian 
and  Turkish  armies  was  so  peaceful  that  the  left  bank  of  the 
Pruth  was  left  almost  undefended.  Thus  the  Tsar  could  re¬ 
inforce  his  army  at  Sevastopol. 

The  English  at  Balaklava  occupied  a  camp  threefold  larger 
than  was  necessary,  and,  in  order  to  defend  the  outposts,  a 
guard  of  a  thousand  Turkish  soldiers  had  been  added  to  their 
own  pickets.  For  some  time  Prince  Menshikof  had  been 
meditating  an  attack  upon  Balaklava.  Pie  fixed  upon  the 
twenty-fifth  of  October  for  the  execution  of  his  plan,  and  placed 
General  Liprandi  at  the  head  of  eighteen  thousand  men,  who 
formed  at  the  village  of  Tchorgun  on  the  Tchernaia.  At  five 
o’clock  in  the  morning  Liprandi’s  corps  marched  three  columns 
against  the  redoubts  which  protected  the  English  camp. 
Prince  Menshikof  also  gave  orders  to  General  Zhabokritski  to 
bring  about  five  thousand  men  from  the  heights  of  Makenzie 
to  Mount  Fediukhin  as  a  reserve. 

At  daybreak  the  Russians  attacked  the  redoubts  occupied 
by  the  Turks,  who  after  a  slight  resistance  fled,  without  even 
spiking  their  cannon.  The  Russians  then  took  possession  of 
the  redoubts  and  advanced  against  the  English  forces,  who 
formed  with  great  rapidity  and  repelled  the  cavalry  attack  of 
General  Rizhof.  Had  not  Lord  Cardigan’s  Light  Brigade  been 
too  far  in  the  rear,  the  day  might  have  been  won  for  the  Eng¬ 
lish.  After  this  check  the  Russians  held  aloof  and  tried  to 
tempt  the  English  to  descend  from  their  excellent  positions. 
At  noon  Lord  Raglan  thought  that  he  saw  the  Russians  re¬ 
moving  the  field-pieces  from  the  redoubts  which  they  had  cap¬ 
tured,  and  he  sent  orders  to  have  the  cavalry  advance  rapidly 
and  try  to  prevent  them  from  accomplishing  their  object. 
This  order  was  sent  by  Captain  Nolan,  who  was  obliged  t or 
make  a  long  detour,  and  in  the  interval  the  state  of  affairs 


166 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  VII. 


changed.  The  Russians  kept  their  position  on  the  side  of  the 
hills  and  Mount  Fediukhin ;  the  cavalry  and  flying  artillery 
had  re-formed,  and  in  a  solid  rank  were  drawn  up  in  the  plain. 
Lord  Raglan’s  order  was  considered  peremptory,  however,  and 
the  Earl  of  Cardigan  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  Light 
Brigade,  whose  terrible  ride  into  the  “  jaws  of  death  ”  has  be¬ 
come  so  famous.  The  six  hundred,  in  their  impetuous  charge, 
broke  through  a  whole  army,  and  then  were  obliged  to  return 
the  same  deadly  way.  Five  hundred  horses  lay  dead  upon  the 
field.  Two  hundred  and  fifty  men  were  either  killed  or  severely 
wounded.  After  this  glorious  but  useless  action  the  day 
passed  with  no  further  event.  The  advantage  may  be  said  to 
have  remained  with  the  Russians,  who  obtained  a  foothold  in 
the  valley  of  the  Tchernaia,  and,  as  it  were,  blockaded  the 
English  in  Balaklava. 

While  the  French  and  English  commanders  had  agreed  to 
attempt  storming  the  city  on  the  seventh  of  November,  Prince 
Menshikof  had  decided  to  make  a  general  attack  upon  the 
allies.  His  objective  point  was  the  southern  extremity  of  the 
plateau  of  Inkermann,  the  weakest  part  of  the  English  defence, 
and  he  intrusted  the  principal  operation  to  General  Dannen- 
berg.  A  division  against  the  French  left  wing  was  to  be 
conducted  by  General  Timofeief.  Prince  Gortchakof,  with 
twenty-three  thousand  men,  had  charge  of  the  division  against 
Balaklava. 

Favored  by  the  mist  which  succeeded  a  dark  and  rainy  day 
and  night,  the  Russians  early  on  the  morning  of  the  fifth  ap¬ 
proached  the  English  camp  unsuspected.  The  alarm  was 
given  by  some  pickets,  who  escaped  capture  by  the  advanced 
guard  of  the  Russians.  After  a  few  moments’  confusion  the 
English  formed  in  line  and  faced  the  Russians,  but  were  driven 
back  to  their  tents.  Here  the  Russians  were  unfortunate 
enough  to  lose  General  So'imonof,  who  was  shot  down  as  he 
rushed  to  the  front  to  encourage  his  men.  They  immediately 
fell  back  in  disorder,  and,  though  they  were  reinforced  by  the 


1853  -  1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


167 


regiments  of  Uglitch  and  Butirsk,  they  remained  for  the  rest 
of  the  day  “  abandoned,  forgotten,  and  one  might  say  ignored, 
by  the  general-in-chief.” 

On  the  left  wing  eight  battalions  belonging  to  the  main 
division,  and  consisting  of  five  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
forty  Russians,  met  a  brigade  of  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy 
English  troops,  who  were  driven  back  from  a  small  sand-bag 
battery,  afterwards  called  the  Slaughter-House  Battery,  from 
the  deadly  nature  of  the  struggles  which  took  place  in  its 
vicinity.  It  was  in  a  measure  the  key  of  the  English  position, 
and  time  after  time  it  was  taken  and  lost.  Not  long  before 
nine  o’clock  General  Dannenberg’s  division,  which  had  been 
delayed,  arrived,  and  it  seemed  as  if  the  battery  would  be  defi¬ 
nitely  gained  by  the  Russians.  The  English  were  tired  out 
with  three  hours  of  gallant  fighting  in  defence  of  the  defile, 
“  this  Thermopylae  of  Inkermann.”  It  was  the  arrival  of  the 
French  which  saved  the  day.  A  battalion  of  only  sixteen  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifty  came  to  their  assistance  before  the  Russians  had 
passed  the  battery  of  sand-bags.  The  Russians,  thinking  it 
was  the  whole  French  army,  fell  back  a  little.  This  was  an 
extraordinary  blunder  on  their  part,  for,  had  they  immediately 
advanced  only  five  or  six  hundred  meters,  they  would  have  pre¬ 
vented  the  arrival  of  French  reinforcements. 

At  eleven  o’clock  the  battle  was  over.  Thanks  to  the 
timely  arrival  of  the  French  and  the  confusion  in  the  Russian 
ranks,  the  attempt  to  overwhelm  the  English  camp  had  failed. 
The  Russian  army  on  this  day  lost  eleven  thousand  eight  hun¬ 
dred  men,  killed,  wounded,  and  missing ;  nearly  a  third  of  those 
engaged  in  an  action  “  badly  conceived,  badly  conducted.” 
The  English  lost  twenty-six  hundred  out  of  twelve  thousand, 
and  the  French  about  eighteen  hundred  out  of  forty-two  hun¬ 
dred. 

The  battle  of  Inkermann  caused  the  indefinite  postponement 
of  the  grand  assault  which  had  been  planned  for  the  seventh 
of  November.  On  the  fourteenth  a  tremendous  hurricane  in- 


168 


HISTORY  OP  RUSSIA. 


[Cha*\  VII. 


flicted  great  damage  upon  the  fleets,  especially  the  English 
ships  in  Balaklava  Bay.  The  pecuniary  loss  was  reckoned  at 
nearly  two  million  pounds  sterling,  and  more  than  a  thousand 
men  were  drowned. 

The  allies  now  encamped  for  the  winter  before  Sevastopol ; 
both  besiegers  and  besieged  could  continually  receive  reinforce¬ 
ments  and  supplies.  It  was  like  two  armies  intrenched  oppo¬ 
site  each  other  and  keeping  all  their  communications.  The 
winter  was  severe,  and  the  French  and  English,  especially  the 
latter,  suffered  from  great  hardships,  from  cold  and  disease; 
but  they  succeeded  in  establishing  themselves  more  and  more 
firmly,  braving,  in  a  corner  of  the  Crimea,  all  the  forces  of  the 
empire  of  the  Tsars. 

Toward  the  last  of  January  Omer  Pasha  decided  to  bring 
forty-five  thousand  of  his  Danubian  army  to  the  Crimea,  and, 
on  the  tenth  of  February,  twenty  thousand  Turks  had  already 
reached  Eupatoria,  from  which  point  they  could,  with  com¬ 
parative  ease,  trouble  Simferopol  or  Perekop.  When  advices 
of  the  landing  of  the  Turks  at  Eupatoria  reached  the  Emperor 
Nicholas,  he  commanded  General  Wrangel  to  invest  the  town. 
A  portion  of  the  army  of  the  South  under  Prince  Mikhail 
Gortchakof  was  added  to  his  forces.  Nicholas  was  not 
satisfied,  however,  with  a  mere  blockade;  he  sent  an  im¬ 
perative  order  to  take  the  place  by  assault,  in  order  to 
avenge  upon  the  Turks  of  Omer  Pasha  the  insult  inflicted 
by  this  invasion  of  the  sacred  soil  of  Russia. 

General  Wrangel  made  a  careful  survey  of  the  town,  which 
had  been  strengthened  and  fortified  under  the  direction  of  two 
French  officers.  He  reported,  on  the  eighth  of  February,  that 
an  attack  upon  Eupatoria  would  be  unlikely  to  succeed.  But 
General  Khrulef,  the  commandant  of  the  artillery,  declared 
that  he  would  guarantee  a  successful  assault  if  the  charge  of  it 
were  conferred  upon  him.  Prince  Menshikof,  who  was  as  im¬ 
patient  as  the  Tsar,  immediately  gave  General  Khrulef  the 
necessary  authority.  He  divided  his  twenty  thousand  men  into 


1853-1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


169 


three  columns,  which,  on  the  night  of  the  sixteenth  of  Febru¬ 
ary,  formed  about  four  kilometers  from  Eupatoria,  while  hun¬ 
dreds  of  laborers  threw  up  hasty  earthworks  to  protect  the 
artillery.  Early  in  the  morning  they  opened  a  vigorous  can¬ 
nonade  from  sixty-six  pieces,  and  at  ten  o’clock  the  first  as¬ 
sault  was  given  by  the  left  wing.  It  failed  completely.  General 
Khrulef  had  not  the  audacity  to  order  the  other  two  columns 
to  rush  into  certain  destruction.  His  first  onset  caused  a  loss 
of  nearly  eight  hundred  men.  The  failure  of  this  attempt  to 
drive  the  Turks  into  the  sea  was  so  severe  a  blow  to  Prince 
Menshikof,  who  had  promised  again  and  again  to  lead  the 
Russian  armies  to  a  glorious  success,  that  he  resigned  his  po¬ 
sition,  and  was  succeeded  by  Prince  Mikhail  Gortchakof,  the 
brother  of  the  general  who  held  important  commands  at  Alma 
and  Inkermann.  While  the  allies  were  digging  trenches,  bor¬ 
ing  mines,  and  multiplying  the  batteries  in  front  of  Sevasto¬ 
pol,  the  Russian  engineers,  under  the  direction  of  Todleben, 
strengthened  the  town  fortifications  and  built  new  ones, — 
the  Transbalkan,  Selinghinsk,  Volhynia,  and  Kamtchatka  re¬ 
doubts, —  which  sprang  up  almost  like  magic,  and  caused  the 
allies  wonder  and  admiration.  The  chances  of  taking  the  city 
by  storm  seemed  less  and  less,  when,  suddenly,  the  news  of  the 
Emperor’s  death  came  to  Sevastopol,  and  brought  some  hope 
that  peace  might  be  immediately  re-established. 

On  the  twenty-sixth  of  December,  eighteen  hundred  and 
twenty-five,  Nicholas  had  been  consecrated,  in  the  blood  of 
conspirators,  the  armed  apostle  of  the  principle  of  authority, 
the  exterminating  angel  of  the  counter-revolution.  This 
position  he  had  held  for  thirty  years,  not  without  glory.  He 
had  subdued  the  Polish,  Hungarian,  and  Rumanian  revolu¬ 
tions,  and  prevented  Prussia  from  yielding  to  the  seductions  of 
the  German  revolution,  and  to  the  appeals  of  disaffection  in 
Holstein.  He  had,  if  not  humiliated,  at  least  troubled  the 
French  revolution  in  all  its  legal  phases,  —  July  royalty,  repub¬ 
lic,  and  empire.  He  had  saved  the  Austrian  Empire,  and 


170 


HISTORY  OR  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  VII. 


hindered  the  creation  of  a  democratic  German  empire.  He 
stationed  himself  wherever  the  contrary  principle  made  its  ap¬ 
pearance.  People  surnamed  him  the  Don  Quixote  of  autoc¬ 
racy  :  like  Cervantes'  hero,  he  possessed  a  chivalrous,  generous, 
and  disinterested  spirit;  but,  like  him  too,  he  represented  a 
superannuated  principle  in  a  new  world.  His  part  of  chief  of  a 
chimerical  Holy  Alliance  became  more  visibly  an  anachronism, 
day  by  day.  Since  eighteen  hundred  and  forty-eight,  particu¬ 
larly,  the  “  aspirations  ”  of  the  people  were  in  direct  contradic¬ 
tion  to  his  theories  of  patriarchal  despotism.  This  opposition 
was  apparent  throughout  Europe.  The  Tsar's  prestige  began 
to  suffer.  In  Russia  he  still  contrived  to  sustain  it :  his  suc¬ 
cesses  in  Turkey,  Persia,  the  Caucasus,  Poland,  and  Hungary, 
and  the  apparent  deference  of  the  European  princes,  permitted 
him  to  play  his  part  of  Agamemnon  among  kings.  Russia 
thought  its  external  greatness  was  sufficient  compensation  for 
its  internal  subjection.  People  forgot  to  exclaim  at  the  inter¬ 
ference  of  the  police,  at  the  fetters  imposed  on  the  press,  at 
the  intellectual  isolation  of  Russia,  and  they  renounced  the 
control  of  government,  diplomacy,  war,  and  administration. 
The  hard-working  monarch,  they  thought,  would  foresee  all, 
watch  over  all,  and  bring  all  to  a  happy  conclusion.  The  men 
with  liberal  “  aspirations,"  the  discontented  and  critical  spirits, 
were  not  listened  to.  In  reply  to  the  objections  timidly  ex¬ 
pressed  by  a  few  was  urged  the  monarch’s  success.  It  seemed 
to  justify  absolute  confidence  in  the  government,  and  relin¬ 
quishment  of  themselves. 

The  disasters  in  the  East  caused  a  terrible  awakening.  The 
invincible  fleets  of  Russia  were  forced  to  take  refuge  in  the 
ports,  or  to  retreat  into  the  harbor  of  Sevastopol.  The  army 
was  vanquished  at  the  Alma  by  the  allies,  at  Silistria  by  the 
much-despised  Turks.  Fifty  thousand  Westerns  installed  un¬ 
der  Sevastopol  were  insulting  the  majesty  of  the  empire.  The 
immense  superiority  of  the  navy  of  the  allies  allowed  them  to 
attack  Russia  in  all  its  seas;  Odessa  had  been  bombarded; 


185  J -1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


171 


the  Russian  settlements  on  the  coasts  of  the  Caucasus,  Re- 
dut-Kale  and  Sukum-Kale,  had  been  burned  by  the  Russians 
themselves.  In  the  Baltic,  Kronstadt  was  blockaded ;  Svea- 
borg  was  bombarded.  In  the  White  Sea  the  fortified  monas¬ 
tery  of  Solovetski  was  attacked.  In  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk  the 
Siberian  ports  were  blockaded ;  the  arsenal  of  Petropavlovsk 
was  destroyed,  and  their  position  on  the  Amur  was  threatened. 
The  allies  of  old  had  failed.  Prussia  was  allowing  matters  to 
take  their  own  course ;  Austria  was  openly  playing  the  traitor. 
The  silence  of  the  press  had,  during  thirty  years,  favored  the 
thefts  of  the  government  officials  ;  the  fortresses  and  the  armies 
had  been  ruined  beforehand  by  administrative  corruption.  The 
nation  had  expected  everything  of  the  government,  and  the 
Crimean  war  appeared  as  an  immense  bankruptcy  of  autocracy ; 
the  absolute  and  patriarchal  monarchy  stopped  payment  at  the 
demands  of  the  Anglo-Prench  invasion.  The  greater  men’s 
hopes  had  been,  —  the  more  people  expected  the  conquest  of 
Constantinople,  the  upheaval  of  the  East,  the  extension  of  the 
Slav  Empire,  the  deliverance  of  Jerusalem,  —  the  harder  and 
more  cruel  was  the  awakening.  Then  a  vast  movement  was 
felt  in  Russia.  Tongues  were  unloosed,  and  in  default  of 
the  press  an  immense  manuscript  literature  was  secretly 
distributed.  The  government  was  pelted  with  unexpected 
charges,  accusing  the  Emperor,  the  ministers,  the  administra¬ 
tion,  the  diplomatists,  the  generals,  every  one  at  once.  “Arise, 
O  Russia  !  ”  said  one  of  these  anonymous  pamphlets.  “  De¬ 
voured  by  enemies,  ruined  by  slavery,  shamefully  oppressed 
by  the  stupidity  of  tchinovniki  and  spies,  awaken  from  thy 
long  sleep  of  ignorance  and  apathy  !  We  have  been  kept  long 
enough  in  serfage  by  the  successors  of  the  Tartar  khans. 
Arise,  and  stand  erect  and  calm,  before  the  throne  of  the  des¬ 
pot  ;  demand  of  him  a  reckoning  for  the  national  misfortunes. 
Tell  him  boldly  that  his  throne  is  not  the  altar  of  God,  and 
that  God  has  not  condemned  us  forever  to  be  slaves.  Russia, 
O  Tsar,  confided  to  thee  the  supreme  power,  and  thou  wert  to 


172 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  VII. 


her  as  a  god  upon  earth.  And  what  hast  thou  done  ?  Blinded 
by  passion  and  ignorance,  thou  hast  sought  nothing  but  power ; 
thou  hast  forgotten  Russia.  Thou  hast  consumed  thy  life  in 
reviewing  troops,  in  altering  uniforms,  in  signing  the  legisla¬ 
tive  projects  of  ignorant  charlatans.  Thou  hast  created  a  des¬ 
picable  race  of  censors  of  the  press,  that  thou  mightst  sleep 
in  peace,  and  never  know  the  wants,  never  hear  the  murmurs, 
of  thy  people,  never  listen  to  the  voice  of  truth.  Truth  !  thou 
hast  buried  her ;  thou  hast  rolled  a  great  stone  before  the  door 
of  her  sepulchre,  thou  hast  placed  a  strong  guard  round  her 
tomb,  and  in  the  exultation  of  thine  heart  thou  hast  said,  ‘  For 
her,  no  resurrection  ! 9  Now,  on  the  third  day,  Truth  has  risen  ; 
she  has  come  forth  from  among  the  dead.  Advance,  0  Tsar ! 
appear  at  the  bar  of  God  and  of  history  !  Thou  hast  mercilessly 
trodden  Truth  under  thy  feet,  thou  hast  refused  liberty,  at  the 
same  time  that  thou  wast  enslaved  by  thine  own  passions.  By 
thy  pride  and  obstinacy  thou  hast  exhausted  Russia ;  thou  hast 
armed  the  world  against  her.  Humiliate  thyself  before  thy 
brothers.  Bow  thy  haughty  forehead  in  the  dust,  implore  par¬ 
don,  ask  counsel ;  throw  thyself  into  the  arms  of  thy  people. 
There  is  no  other  way  of  salvation  for  thee.”  More  than  once 
toward  the  end  of  his  life  the  Tsar  was  seized  with  doubts,  but 
this  advocate  of  absolute  power  could  not  make  atonement. 
“My  successor,”  he  said,  “may  do  what  he  will;  I  cannot 
change.”  He  could  not  change,  he  could  only  disappear.  He 
was  a  man  of  another  age,  an  anachronism  in  the  new  Europe. 
When,  from  his  villa  of  Peterhof,  he  could  follow  the  manoeu¬ 
vres  of  the  enemy's  fleet,  when  he  heard  raised  against  him 
the  voice  of  the  hitherto  silent  nation,  then  this  proud  heart 
bled  —  the  “iron  Emperor”  was  broken.  He  longed  to  die. 
The  failure  of  the  attack  upon  Eupatoria  was  a  mortal  blow. 
On  the  twenty-seventh  of  February,  eighteen  hundred  and 
fifty-five,  having  at  the  time  a  bad  influenza,  he  went  out  with¬ 
out  his  great-coat  to  review  his  guard.  It  was  a  damp  day, 
with  the  cold  at  twenty -three  degrees  Centigrade.  His  doctor, 


1853-1855.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


173 


Karrel,  tried  to  restrain  him.  “You  have  fulfilled  your  duty,” 
replied  the  Emperor,  “  let  me  do  mine.”  Other  imprudences 
aggravated  his  illness.  He  gave  his  last  instructions  to  his 
heir,  and  himself  dictated  the  despatch  which  he  sent  to  all 
the  great  towns  of  Russia,  —  “  The  Emperor  is  dying.”  On 
the  eighteenth  of  Eebruary,  or,  in  accordance  with  the  new 
style,  the  second  of  March,  he  died. 


CHAPTER  VIII, 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR 

1855  - 1856. 

Accession  of  Alexander.  —  End  of  the  Crimean  War. — Treaty 

of  Paris. 


ACCESSION  OF  ALEXANDER. 

ALEXANDER  SECOND  was  born  Oil  the  twenty -ninth 
of  April,  eighteen  hundred  and  eighteen.  His  mother 
was  Alexandra  Eeodorovna,  the  Princess  Charlotte  of  Prussia, 
daughter  of  Friedrich  Wilhelm  the  Second.  The  poet  Zhukov- 
ski,  his  tutor,  instructed  him  in  the  ancient  languages  ;  he  was 
taught  to  speak  French  and  German,  and  particular  attention 
was  paid  to  Russian.  Zhukovski  implanted  in  him  a  love 
for  his  country  and  liberal  ideas.  He  interested  him  early 
in  the  subject  of  emancipation.  His  Empress  mother  culti¬ 
vated  the  sympathetic  side  of  his  nature,  while  Nicholas,  his 
father,  who  was  kindly  and  tender  in  the  family,  subjected 
him  to  the  stern  discipline  of  a  soldier.  In  his  youth  he  was 
initiated  into  the  science  of  government  and  taught  practical 
armory. 

At  the  age  of  sixteen  Alexander  reached  his  majority,  and 
on  the  fourth  of  May,  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-four,  took 
the  oath  of  succession  in  the  chapel  of  the  Winter  Palace. 
He  became  the  Emperor’s  first  adjutant,  Hetman  of  the  Cos¬ 
sacks,  commandant  of  the  guard  of  lancers,  and  Chancellor  of 
the  University  of  Finland.  His  duty  as  adjutant  obliged  him 
to  accompany  his  imperial  father  on  journeys  of  review  and 


1855-1856.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


175 


inspection.  At  the  age  of  twenty  he  travelled  in  Germany 
with  Count  Orlof,  and  was  received  with  the  honor  befitting 
his  rank.  At  the  court  of  Hesse-Dannstadt  he  selected  for  his 
wife  the  accomplished  Wilhelmine  Maximiliane  Marie,  daugh¬ 
ter  of  the  Grand  Duke  Louis  the  Second.  The  wedding  took 
place  on  April  twenty-eighth,  eighteen  hundred  and  forty-one. 
the  Princess  assuming  the  Greek  religion  and  the  name  of 
Maria  Alexandrovna. 

In  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty  Alexander  journeyed  through 
the  South  of  Russia,  visiting  the  battle-field  of  Poltava,  pass¬ 
ing  through  New  Russia  and  Bessarabia  to  Nikolaief,  to  Sevas¬ 
topol  and  the  Caucasus.  He  was  received  in  Tiflis  with  most 
imposing  ceremonies.  The  population  came  out  to  meet  him 
in  gay  apparel  and  bearing  floral  offerings.  At  night  the  city 
was  illuminated,  the  fountains  flowed  with  wine,  the  moun¬ 
tain  Artebar,  opposite,  was  adorned  with  a  temple  of  flame  on 
which  glowed  his  name,  streams  of  fire  in  many  colors  dashed 
down  the  mountain-side,  and  the  river  Kura  was  one  blaze  of 
light.  He  had  at  this  time  an  opportunity  to  apply  his  mili¬ 
tary  knowledge.  He  gained  a  victory  over  the  Tcherkesui,  and 
won  the  decoration  of  the  George  order. 

When  Alexander  ascended  the  throne  of  Russia  he  was 
already  thirty-seven  years  of  age.  His  father,  only  a  few  hours 
before  his  death,  said  to  him :  “  All  my  care,  all  my  endeav¬ 
ors,  have  been  directed  for  Russia’s  welfare.  I  was  anxious  to 
continue  to  labor  so  that  I  might  leave  you  the  empire  stead¬ 
fast  and  orderly,  safe  against  dangers  from  without,  thoroughly 
prosperous  and  at  peace.  But  you  see  at  what  a  time  and 
under  what  circumstances  I  am  dying.  God  has  willed  it  so. 
You  will  find  the  burden  hard  to  bear.”  It  was  Alexander’s 
duty  to  preserve  the  honor  and  integrity  of  his  empire. 
Almost  all  Europe  was  opposed  to  him.  A  burdensome  war 
was  bequeathed  to  him.  His  treasury  was  depleted.  The 
people  were  anxious  for  peace,  and  the  dying  Nicholas  had 
caught  the  murmurs  of  uneasiness  and  had  heard  the  demand 


176 


HISTORY  OR  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  VIII. 


for  sweeping  reform.  The  new  Emperor  issued  the  following 
manifesto  to  the  nation  when  he  assumed  the  rule :  “  We, 
Alexander  the  Second,  by  the  grace  of  God  Emperor  and 
Autocrat  of  all  the  Russians,  King  of  Poland,  etc.,  notify  all 
our  faithful  subjects  that  it  has  pleased  God  in  his  unsearch¬ 
able  wisdom  to  overwhelm  us  all  with  an  unexpected  terrible 
blow.  Our  beloved  father,  the  Emperor  Nikolai  Pavlovitch, 
has  this  day,  February  eighteenth,  departed  this  life  after  a 
short  but  severe  illness  which  towards  the  last  developed  with 
incredible  rapidity.  No  words  can  express  our  grief,  which  is 
shared  by  all  our  faithful  subjects.  While  we  submit  to  the 
mysterious  dispensations  of  Divine  Providence,  from  the  same 
source  alone  do  we  seek  consolation  and  hope  to  be  given  the 
strength  to  bear  the  burdens  which  have  been  laid  upon  us. 
As  our  beloved  father,  of  sorrowful  memory,  devoted  all  his 
efforts  every  hour  of  his  life  to  caring  for  the  welfare  of  his 
subjects,  so  also  do  we  in  this  sad  and  solemnly  important 
moment,  as  we  assume  our  hereditary  thrones  of  the  Russian 
Empire,  of  the  Kingdom  of  Poland  inseparable  from  the  same, 
and  of  the  Grand  Principality  of  Finland,  take,  in  the  presence 
of  the  invisible  God  who  rules  our  destinies,  the  holy  vow, 
constantly  to  hold  before  our  eyes,  as  our  sole  aim,  the 
welfare  of  our  Fatherland.  And  may  Providence,  who  has 
chosen  us  for  this  high  calling,  so  guide  and  protect  us  that 
we  may  preserve  Russia  at  the  highest  point  of  power  and 
glory,  and  accomplish  the  designs  and  wishes  of  our  illus¬ 
trious  ancestors,  —  Peter,  Catherine,  Alexander  the  Blest,  and 
our  father  of  imperishable  memory.  The  tried  zeal  of  our 
beloved  subjects,  their  ardent  prayers  uniting  with  ours  before 
the  throne  of  the  Almighty,  will  be  our  support.” 

This  manifesto,  which  closed  with  a  command  to  the  Rus¬ 
sian  people  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  Emperor  and 
his  heir-apparent,  Nikolai  Alexandrovitch,  was  sent  to  Mos¬ 
cow  and  also  to  the  imperial  ministers  abroad,  who  were 
instructed  by  the  chancellor  Nesselrode  in  regard  to  Alexan- 


1855-  1856.1 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


177 


tier’s  designs.  He  desired  to  protect  Russian  integrity  and 
honor,  and  at  the  same  time  to  bring  the  war  to  a  close  as 
speedily  as  possible.  Freedom  of  worship  and  the  welfare  of 
the  Christian  population  of  the  East  were  to  be  guaranteed. 
The  Danubian  principalities  were  to  be  secured  in  their  privi¬ 
leges,  free  navigation  of  the  Danube  established,  and  an  end 
was  to  be  put  to  the  rivalry  of  the  great  powers,  so  as  to  pre¬ 
vent  a  recurrence  of  the  disturbances  in  the  East. 

In  spite  of  Alexander’s  proclamation,  in  which  he  proposed 
to  accomplish  the  designs  and  wishes  of  his  illustrious  ances¬ 
tors,  the  funds  arose  on  all  the  exchanges  of  Europe.  It  was 
well  known  that  Russia  was  anxious  for  peace.  The  Emperor, 
however,  addressed  the  diplomatic  corps  at  his  court  in  a  way 
that  showed  that  he  would  accept  no  dishonorable  conditions  : 
“  I  declare  solemnly  before  you,  gentlemen,  that  I  shall  re¬ 
main  true  to  all  my  father’s  convictions  and  persist  in  clinging 
to  the  political  principles  wThich  served  as  a  line  of  conduct  for 
my  uncle  the  Emperor  Alexander  and  my  father.  These 
principles  are  those  of  the  Holy  Alliance  ;  if  this  Alliance  no 
longer  exists  it  is  assuredly  not  my  father’s  fault.  His  designs 
were  always  open  and  straightforward,  and  if  they  were  here 
and  there  misjudged,  doubtless  God  and  history  will  render 
him  full  justice.  I  am  entirely  willing  to  give  my  hand  to  an 
understanding  under  the  conditions  which  he  had  adopted.  I 
also  am  anxious  for  peace.  I  wish  to  put  an  end  to  the  horrors 
of  the  war.  But  should  the  conference  opened  at  Vienna  have 
a  result  incompatible  with  our  honor,  I  shall  renew  the  con¬ 
flict,  together  with  my  faithful  Russia,  and  I  will  then  rather 
go  to  destruction  than  yield.”  But  the  new  sovereign  knew 
better  than  any  one  how  little  the  ambitious  projects  of  Peter 
and  Catherine  were  appropriate  to  the  difficult  circumstances 
in  which  he  was  placed.  It  was  rumored  that  a  serious  quar¬ 
rel  estranged  the  Emperor  from  his  brother  Konstantin,  who 
was  supposed  to  be  more  inclined  to  war  than  the  former ; 
and  when  this  found  no  confirmation,  it  was  whispered  that 

VOL.  Ill  A  12 


178 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  VIII. 


Alexander  was  acting  not  from  his  own  impulse,  hut  under 
Konstantin’s  instigation.  All  such  rumors  were  stopped  by 
the  action  which  Alexander  took  in  appointing  his  brother 
High  Admiral  of  the  Russian  navy,  with  unrestricted  powers. 
He  made  him,  also,  Regent  in  case  he  should  die  before  his 
son  Nikolai  attained  his  majority. 

On  the  fifteenth  of  March,  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-five, 
the  representatives  of  England,  Erance,  Austria,  Turkey,  and 
Russia  met  in  Vienna.  The  demands  of  the  allies  were  based 
upon  the  four  points  which  had  already  been  under  considera¬ 
tion.  These  were:  That  Russia  abandon  the  control  over 
Moldavia,  Valakhia,  and  Serbia ;  give  up  its  claim  to  control 
the  mouths  of  the  Danube ;  agree  that  all  treaties  allowing  it 
a  preponderance  in  the  Black  Sea  should  be  abrogated ;  and, 
finally,  renounce  the  exclusive  protectorate  of  the  Christians 
in  the  Ottoman  dominions.  Baron  Bourqueney,  the  repre¬ 
sentative  of  Erance,  wished  so  to  limit  the  Tsar’s  power  that 
Prince  Alexander  Gortchakof,  who  was  at  first  inclined  to  be 
yielding,  felt  that  the  demands  were  exorbitant,  and  asked 
time  to  refer  to  the  Tsar.  But  when  the  proposal  to  close 
the  Black  Sea  was  refused,  the  representatives  of  England, 
Erance,  and  Turkey  declared  that  their  instructions  forbade 
them  to  go  farther.  Titof,  the  second  Russian  ambassador, 
tried  to  show  it  was  not  from  the  Russian  side  that  the  obsta¬ 
cles  to  a  settlement  arose.  In  this  he  was  seconded  by  Gor¬ 
tchakof,  who  claimed  that  proof  positive  of  Russia’s  singleness 
of  intention  was  furnished  by  its  willingness  to  agree  either 
to  the  opening  the  Black  Sea  to  all  ships  of  war,  or  to  the 
closing  it  to  all  ships  of  war.  Nearly  a  month  of  inactivity 
ensued,  during  which  notes  were  exchanged,  and  Count  Nes¬ 
selrode  pointed  out  officially  that  the  fruitlessness  of  the  con¬ 
ference  was  entirely  the  fault  of  the  western  powers.  The 
fourteenth  and  last  session  took  place  on  the  fourth  of  June, 
when  it  was  proposed  to  consider  certain  new  propositions  of 
Count  Buol-Schauenstein’s,  who  was  indefatigable  in  his  zeal 


1855-1856.] 


THE  CEIMEAN  WAR. 


179 


to  bring  about  an  agreement.  France  and  England,  however, 
declined  to  discuss  them,  considering  that  Russia’s  refusal  to 
reduce  its  active  forces  was  a  practical  answer  to  the  proposal. 
The  conference  accordingly  came  to  an  end,  and  the  only 
advantage  it  produced  was  in  showing  clearly  the  relation¬ 
ship  in  which  the  great  powers  were  to  each  other.  Austria, 
in  December,  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-four,  had  agreed  to 
defend  the  Principalities  against  Russia,  and  Prussia  had 
undertaken  to  assist  Austria ;  but  in  this  conference  Prussia 
was  disgusted  by  the  quibbles  and  chicanery  which  had  pre¬ 
vented  any  satisfactory  result,  and  consequently  had  prevented 
Austria  from  vigorously  espousing  the  cause  of  Prance  and 
England.  Moreover,  the  rejection  of  Buol-Schauenstein’s 
propositions  somewhat  piqued  Austria,  and  the  Emperor 
Francis  Joseph,  alleging  financial  reasons,  withdrew  sixty 
thousand  of  his  forces  from  Galicia,  so  that  Russia  felt  justi¬ 
fied  in  transferring  its  Galician  army  to  the  Crimea.  It 
began  to  be  suspected  in  England  that  Austria  was  in  league 
with  Russia,  and  although  the  Clarendon  ministry  succeeded 
in  disproving  this,  there  nevertheless  remained  a  considerable 
party  who  believed  that  nothing  but  unfavorable  circumstances 
prevented  the  declaration  of  war. 

END  OP  THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 

On  the  sixteenth  of  April  Napoleon  and  the  Empress 
Eugenie  paid  a  visit  to  Queen  Victoria.  Nothing  was  left 
undone  to  show  honor  to  the  distinguished  visitors,  and  the 
good  feeling  which  existed  between  the  two  nations  was  much 
enhanced.  The  visit  was  returned  in  the  middle  of  August, 
and  the  alliance  still  more  strongly  cemented  by  the  hospitali¬ 
ties  which  the  French  Emperor  showed  to  Victoria  and  the 
Prince  Consort. 

Meanwhile  the  Crimean  war  continued.  Victor  Emmanuel, 
King  of  the  Sardinian  States,  had  become  bound  by  a  military 
treaty  signed  at  Turin  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  January,  to  fur* 


180 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  VIII. 


nish  an  army  of  fifteen  thousand  men  in  case  the  war  against 
Russia  should  be  prosecuted.  The  first  division,  numbering 
about  seven  thousand  men,  together  with  officers  and  stores, 
set  sail  for  the  Crimea  in  May.  They  were  warmly  welcomed 
by  their  allies,  and  were  assigned  a  camping-ground  to  the 
west  of  the  French. 

During  the  months  of  March  and  April  numerous  encoun¬ 
ters  took  place  between  the  besiegers  and  the  Russians,  while 
each  party  tried  to  strengthen  its  defences.  The  Russians 
occupied  many  rifle-pits,  by  means  of  which  they  annoyed 
those  who  were  constructing  the  zigzags  and  parallels.  On 
the  seventeenth  of  March  the  whole  British  force  was  put 
under  arms,  and  a  tremendous  struggle  ensued,  in  which  the 
French  bore  the  brunt  of  the  attack,  but  did  not  succeed  in 
driving  the  enemy  back  from  their  rifle-pits.  Two  days  later 
Admiral  Istomin,  commander  of  the  Karabelnaia,  was  killed 
by  a  cannon-ball,  and  was  laid  in  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Vla¬ 
dimir,  beside  Kornilof.  On  the  night  of  the  twenty-second, 
which  was  windy  and  dark,  a  body  of  fifteen  thousand  Rus¬ 
sians  made  a  double  sortie  from  Sevastopol,  one  column  being 
directed  against  the  French  to  the  northeast  of  the  Mame- 
lon,  and  the  other  against  the  left  wing  of  the  English.  The 
assault  was  so  vigorous  and  sudden  that  the  French  had  to 
leave  their  trenches,  but  afterwards,  being  reinforced,  they  cap¬ 
tured  them  again.  This  sortie  was  exceedingly  bloody,  and 
was  called  an  Inkermann  on  a  small  scale.  The  Russians 
hoped  by  means  of  it  to  destroy  the  works  directed  against 
the  Malakof,  which  was  now  the  point  of  attack,  being  justly 
considered  the  key  to  Sevastopol.  The  Russian  loss  was  about 
thirteen  hundred ;  the  French  perhaps  half  as  many. 

The  October  bombardment  had  not  been  renewed.  After 
an  enormous  number  of  projectiles  were  hurled  upon  the  town, 
doing  considerable  damage  to  life  and  property,  it  was  decided 
that  Sevastopol  could  be  taken  only  by  siege.  Consequently 
for  nearly  half  a  year  nothing  was  done  beyond  the  occasional 


1855-1856.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


181 


repulse  of  sorties,  and  the  regular  investment  of  the  town. 
On  the  ninth  of  April  the  second  bombardment  began.  For 
many  days  in  succession  all  the  batteries  of  the  allies  poured 
a  stream  of  red-hot  shot,  bombs,  and  cannon-balls  against 
the  walls  and  other  defences  of  the  town.  On  the  first  day 
twenty  thousand  projectiles  were  thrown  by  two  hundred  and 
fifty  guns.  The  weather  was  un propitious.  Lord  Raglan’s 
despatch  to  the  English  ministry  said  :  “  Much  rain  had  fallen 
in  the  course  of  the  night,  and  it  continued  during  the  day, 
accompanied  by  a  tempestuous  wind  and  a  heavy  mist  which 
obscured  everything  and  rendered  it  impossible  to  ascertain 
with  any  degree  of  accuracy  the  effect  of  the  fire.”  All  day 
long  the  bombardment  was  carried  on.  Dr.  William  IT.  Rus¬ 
sell  thus  describes  the  scene  at  the  close  of  the  day  :  — 

“The  sun  descended  into  a  rift  in  the  dark  gray  pall 
which  covered  the  sky,  and  cast  a  pale  yellow  slice  of  light, 
barred  here  and  there  by  columns  of  rain  and  masses  of  curl¬ 
ing  vapor,  across  the  line  of  batteries.  The  outlines  of  the 
town,  faintly  rendered  through  the  mists  of  smoke  and  rain, 
seemed  quivering  inside  the  circling  lines  of  fire  around  famil¬ 
iar  outlines,  —  the  green  cupola  and  roofs,  long  streets  and 
ruined  suburbs,  the  dock -yard  buildings,  trenches,  and  bat¬ 
teries.” 

From  the  ninth  to  the  twentieth  the  Russians  had  suffered 
a  loss  of  six  thousand  one  hundred  and  thirty  men,  the  French 
fifteen  hundred  and  eighty-five,  the  English  two  hundred  and 
sixty-five.  On  the  Tsar’s  birthday  a  Te  Deum  was  sung  in 
the  Cathedral  and  a  salvo  of  one  hundred  and  one  guns  was 
fired  against  the  enemy  in  honor  of  the  occasion. 

But  the  second  bombardment,  like  the  first,  in  spite  of  the 
enormous  consumption  of  powder  and  shot,  was  on  the  whole 
a  failure.  It  caused  much  loss  of  life,  but  the  material  damage 
done  was  easily  repaired.  On  the  first  of  May  the  French  by 
a  gallant  attack  captured  all  of  the  Russian  rifle-pits  near  the 
Central  Bastion  on  the  southwest  side  of  the  city.  The  next 


182 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  VIII. 


day  the  Russians,  several  thousand  strong,  attempted  to  regain 
the  important  position  which  they  had  lost,  but  they  were 
driven  back.  Their  killed  and  wounded  were  about  nine 
hundred,  while  the  French  lost  nearly  eight  hundred. 

On  the  fifth,  ninth,  and  eleventh  of  May  the  Russians 
made  desperate  sorties,  in  which  the  British  parallels  were  the 
points  of  attack;  but  nothing  resulted  from  them  except  loss  of 
life.  On  the  twenty-second  a  tremendous  conflict  took  place 
between  the  French  and  the  Russians.  The  Russians,  anxious 
to  make  good  the  position  lost  at  the  beginning  of  the  month, 
set  large  numbers  of  men  to  construct  lines  of  gabions  be¬ 
tween  the  Quarantine  Battery  and  the  Central  Bastion,  en¬ 
closing  a  considerable  surface  outside  of  the  town  defences, 
and  threatening  the  French  rear.  It  was  seen  by  the  French 
commander  that  these  works  must  be  stopped  at  all  hazards, 
and  at  nine  o’clock  in  the  evening  two  strong  bodies  of  men 
were  sent  out  to  make  simultaneous  attacks  in  different  places. 
The  Russians  were  in  full  force,  as  if  awaiting  an  attack. 
During  the  whole  night  the  battle  raged,  the  ground  being  con¬ 
tested  step  by  step.  Time  after  time  the  ambuscades  near  the 
Quarantine  changed  hands.  The  attack  made  by  the  French 
right  wing  was  a  failure ;  they  were  completely  overwhelmed 
by  the  superiority  of  the  Russian  fire.  The  French,  however, 
were  successful  on  the  left,  and  the  lines  of  gabions  were 
transferred  into  defences  against  the  Russians.  On  the  night 
of  the  twenty-third  the  attempt  was  renewed,  and  this  time 
with  success.  The  French  penetrated  so  far  within  the  Rus¬ 
sian  lines  that  it  was  deemed  safer  to  withdraw ;  which  they 
did  after  destroying  a  strong  battery  behind  a  previously 
unknown  fortification.  The  Russian  loss  was  upwards  of 
five  thousand. 

On  the  sixteenth  of  May  Canrobert  telegraphed  to  Napoleon ; 
“  My  health  and  my  mind,  overwhelmed  by  a  constant  strain, 
do  not  allow  me  longer  to  bear  the  burden  of  a  great  responsi¬ 
bility.  My  duty  towards  my  sovereign  and  my  country  com- 


1855-1856.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


183 


pels  me  to  ask  you  to  transfer  the  chief  command  to  General 
Pelissier,  a  skilful  and  experienced  leader.”  Three  days  after¬ 
wards  Canrobert  was  relieved  by  the  Emperor’s  orders. 

Aimable  Jean  Jacques  Pelissier  was  of  an  Irish  family  long 
settled  in  Prance.  He  was  a  soldier  from  his  childhood,  and 
had  served  with  distinction  in  Africa.  He  now  succeeded  to 
the  chief  command  of  the  French  forces,  and  announced  that 
he  would  take  Sevastopol.  By  reinforcement,  his  army  now 
amounted  to  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  men.  The 
British  had  their  full  complement  of  thirty  thousand ;  the 
Turks  had  about  fifty  thousand,  and  fifteen  thousand  Sardin¬ 
ians,  under  Alphonso  de  la  Marmora,  had  just  arrived,  raising 
the  total  number  of  the  allies  to  two  hundred  thousand,  — 
a  number  too  large  for  effective  operations.  The  whole  force 
of  the  Russians  in  the  Crimea  had  been  reduced  to  one  half  of 
that  number.  Pelissier  had  hardly  assumed  his  command 
before  a  naval  expedition  was  planned  and  carried  out  with 
success  by  the  allies.  About  sixty  men-of-war  carrying  a 
force  of  fourteen  thousand  eight  hundred  infantry,  besides  vari¬ 
ous  corps  of  cavalry,  artillery,  marines,  and  engineers,  set  sail 
on  the  twenty-third  of  May  for  the  Strait  of  Kertch.  The 
Russians,  seeing  the  approach  of  so  strong  a  fleet,  blew  up 
Port  Pavel,  between  Kertch  and  Ienikale,  and  evacuated  the 
town  of  Kertch,  setting  fire  to  many  granaries  and  burning 
the  steamers  in  the  harbor.  The  allied  troops  under  Sir 
George  Brown  and  General  d’Autemarre,  having  disembarked, 
advanced  and  took  possession  of  the  town,  nowhere  meeting 
the  enemy,  and  simply  destroying  some  military  establish¬ 
ments.  General  Wrangel,  on  leaving  Kertch,  had  burned  many 
tons  of  corn  and  flour  to  prevent  them  from  falling  into  the 
hands  of  the  allies.  Captain  Lyons,  on  the  twenty-fourth, 
anchored  just  beyond  range  from  Ienikale,  and  saw  the  Rus¬ 
sians  blow  up  their  magazine,  containing  more  than  thirty 
thousand  kilos  of  powder.  The  next  day,  many  of  their  bat¬ 
teries  having  also  been  dismantled,  he  was  enabled  to  clear 


184 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  Till. 


a  passage  into  the  Sea  of  Azof,  where,  in  three  days,  he  an¬ 
nounced  that  he  had  destroyed  more  than  a  hundred  vessels 

t/ 

belonging  to  the  Russian  government.  Much  property  was 
also  annihilated  along  the  shores.  Lyons  sent  a  despatch  to 
the  home  government  to  the  effect  that  he  had  captured  seven¬ 
teen  thousand  tons  of  coal  and  one  hundred  cannon,  de¬ 
stroyed  nearly  two  hundred  and  fifty  vessels,  and  rendered 
unavailable  at  Berdiansk  and  Genitchesk  six  million  rations 
of  corn  and  flour.  Early  in  June  the  fleet  sailed  against 
Taganrog,  a  town  very  difficult  to  approach  owing  to  the 
shallowness  of  the  bay.  Lyons  sent  a  demand  to  surrender, 
which  was  refused,  whereupon  the  hostile  fleet  began  the 
bombardment.  The  custom-house  and  various  government 
buildings  were  set  on  fire,  and  much  private  property  was  de¬ 
stroyed.  Mariopol,  a  corn-exporting  place,  was  next  attacked, 
and  the  same  work  of  destruction  accomplished.  The  Rus¬ 
sians  were  cut  off  from  every  base  of  supplies  with  the  excep¬ 
tion  of  Perekop.  They  evacuated  Anapa  on  the  fifth  of  June, 
after  exploding  the  powder-magazine,  spiking  the  guns,  and 
burning  the  stores  of  coal  and  grain.  A  Turkish  garrison  was 
stationed  in  the  town,  and  by  them  the  Circassians  were  urged 
to  revolt. 

While  these  destructive  but  not  specially  glorious  opera¬ 
tions  were  being  conducted  in  the  Sea  of  Azof,  the  siege  of 
Sevastopol  was  vigorously  prosecuted  under  the  new  and  ener¬ 
getic  general.  The  Russians  still  maintained  themselves,  daily 
increasing  their  defences  and  bringing  into  the  city  immense 
quantities  of  provisions  and  military  stores.  The  previous 
bombardment  had  destroyed  many  hundred  houses ;  the 
theatre  was  in  ruins ;  there  was  not  a  building  that  had  not 
suffered ;  the  streets  were  ploughed  up  by  cannon-balls  and 
filled  with  barricades. 

Early  in  June  a  council  of  war  was  held  by  the  allies,  and 
it  was  determined  to  open  the  third  bombardment  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  sixth,  and  when  it  should  reach  its  maximum 


1855-1856.] 


THE  CHIMEAN  WA&. 


185 


violence,  to  make  a  threefold  attack  on  the  defences  of  the 
Russians.  The  French  were  to  undertake  the  capture  of 
the  White  Works  or  the  redoubts  on  Mount  Sapun,  and  also 
the  Mamelon  or  Green  Hill,  separated  from  the  former  by  the 
so-called  Careening  ravine ;  the  English  were  to  attempt  the 
Quarries  facing  the  Redan,  and  separated  from  the  Mamelon 
by  the  Karabelnaia  ravine.  The  cannonade  continued  until 
the  afternoon  of  the  seventh,  when  the  assault  was  to  be  at¬ 
tempted.  The  troops  were  at  their  posts  ;  twelve  battalions  of 
Turks  were  to  serve  as  a  reserve  corps  and  protect  the  heights 
of  Inkermann.  Lord  Raglan  took  his  station  on  Cathcart’s 
Hill ;  General  Pelissier,  from  the  Victoria  redoubt,  was  to  fire 
six  rockets  as  the  signal  for  the  simultaneous  attack  to  be 
made.  At  quarter  of  seven  the  rockets  were  sent  up,  and 
with  cheers  the  three  divisions  dashed  across  the  open  spaces 
between  their  trenches  and  the  works  to  be  taken.  The 
Quarries  were  found  almost  undefended,  but  fully  half  a 
dozen  unsuccessful  attempts  to  regain  them  were  made  by  the 
Russians. 

General  Bosquet  was  intrusted  with  the  French  attack. 
At  the  signal  the  troops  under  fire  from  the  Mamelon,  the 
Malakof,  and  the  Redan  quickly  advanced  against  the  first, 
scrambled  up  the  parapet,  fought  their  way  through  the  em¬ 
brasures,  and  captured  the  redoubt,  contesting  it  inch  by  inch 
with  a  Russian  corps  which  had  been  concealed  behind  the 
Mamelon.  Once,  indeed,  they  were  driven  down  the  hill  by 
a  powerful  body  of  Russians,  and  would  have  lost  their  advan¬ 
tage  had  not  the  reserves,  under  Brunet,  supported  them.  The 
Mamelon  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  French,  and  was 
immediately  turned  against  its  former  possessors.  Its  name 
was  changed  to  the  Brancion  Redoubt,  after  Colonel  de 
Brancion,  who  was  the  first  to  plant  the  eagle  on  the  re¬ 
doubt,  and  who  fell  in  the  assault.  The  French  attack  on  the 
White  Works  was  quick,  bloody,  and  successful.  The  Rus¬ 
sians  were  obliged  to  abandon  the  Volhynian  and  Selinghinsk 


186 


HISTORY  OR  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  YIII. 


redoubts,  thereby  losing  control  of  the  Careening  Bay  and  an 
important  road  connecting  Inkermann  with  the  city.  During 
these  three  days  the  Drench  suffered  a  loss  of  more  than  five 
thousand,  the  Russians  of  more  than  six  thousand  men,  among 
whom  was  General  Tiinofeief,  who  had  led  the  great  sortie 
against  the  Drench  left  wing  at  the  battle  of  Inkermann. 

General  Pelissier  held  another  council  of  war  on  the  fif¬ 
teenth,  and  kid  before  Lord  Raglan,  Omer  Pasha  and  General 
de  la  Marmora  his  plan  for  an  assault  on  the  eighteenth,  the 
anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Waterloo.  It  was  agreed  that  the 
cannonade  should  open  early  on  the  morning  of  the  seven¬ 
teenth,  and  continue  for  several  hours  into  the  next  day,  at  the 
end  of  which  time  the  Drench  were  to  attack  the  Malakof,  and 
the  English  the  Redan. 

Thirty-six  hours  before  the  assault  General  Bosquet,  who 
had  offended  Pelissier  in  some  trifling  matter,  was  ordered 
to  transfer  his  command  to  General  Regnaud  de  Saint- Jean 
d’Angely.  It  was  a  grave  mistake.  The  new  commander 
had  too  little  time  to  study  the  ground,  he  was  unacquainted 
with  his  troops,  and  they  with  him.  Bosquet  was  sent  to  the 
valley  of  the  Tchernaia  to  take  command  of  a  body  of  twenty- 
five  thousand  men. 

About  four  o’clock  on  the  morning  of  the  seventeenth  the 
batteries  opened  fire  along  the  whole  line,  from  the  Quarantine 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Tchernaia.  The  cannonade  continued  all 
day.  At  night  the  battery  of  the  Barracks,  the  Great  Redan, 
Malakof,  and  many  other  of  the  Russian  works  were  badly 
beaten  down ;  but  in  spite  of  the  loss  of  life  under  the  deadly 
fire,  the  garrison  bravely  kept  at  work  repairing  the  damages. 
Sevastopol  had  a  working  force  of  forty-three  thousand  infan¬ 
try,  and  eleven  thousand  attached  to  the  artillery  service. 
About  half  of  these  men  were  employed  in  the  Karabelnaia 
suburb  under  the  supervision  of  General  Khrulef.  General 
Pavlof  commanded  the  infantry. 

The  signal  for  the  assault  was  to  be  given  by  a  rocket  from 


1855  -  1856.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


187 


the  Victoria  redoubt  at  three  o’clock  in  the  morning  of  the 
eighteenth.  General  Khrulef,  suspecting  that  a  decisive  action 
was  about  to  ensue,  had  his  troops  all  stationed  as  early  as  two 
o’clock.  But  Pelissier,  at  midnight,  had  not  left  his  head¬ 
quarters  to  take  his  position  on  the  Victoria  redoubt.  The 
Russian  battalions  were  all  at  their  posts,  nine  in  the  Malakof, 
as  many  more  in  the  Grand  Redan  and  its  subordinate  batter¬ 
ies,  when,  finally,  Pelissier  mounted  his  horse  to  accomplish  the 
long  ride  before  him.  But  he  had  not  ridden  far  before  sud¬ 
denly  the  roar  of  cannon  and  the  rattle  of  musketry  were  heard. 
General  Mayran,  whose  duty  it  was  to  attack  the  works  flank¬ 
ing  the  northeast  of  the  Malakof,  mistook  the  fuse  of  a  shell 
for  the  rocket  which  Pelissier  was  to  fire.  The  two  brigades 
of  his  division  dashed  forward  in  the  face  of  a  raking  fire 
which  soon  stopped  them.  General  Mayran  himself  fell  mor¬ 
tally  wounded,  and  was  succeeded  by  General  de  Failly. 

When  Pelissier  arrived  at  the  Victoria  redoubt,  he  found  Lord 
Raglan  had  been  waiting  for  him  an  hour.  The  signal  was 
now  regularly  given.  Brunet’s  division,  which  also  had  been 
delayed,  now  boldly  attacked  the  north  side  of  the  Malakof. 
At  the  first  onset  the  general  himself  was  killed,  and  though 
the  men  succeeded  in  crossing  the  three  hundred  meters  which 
lay  between  them  and  the  battery,  they  were  so  broken  by  the 
galling  fire  that  they  had  to  retreat.  D’Autemarre,  with  two 
battalions,  succeeded  in  gaining  possession  of  the  Gervais 
battery  and  a  group  of  houses  standing  near  the  Malakof. 
But  the  Russians,  having  repulsed  the  attacks  on  the  other 
side,  now  turned  their  whole  attention  to  the  left  flank,  and 
after  a  gallant  resistance  D’Autemarre  was  forced  to  with¬ 
draw.  The  English  also  suffered  from  the  terrible  fire  of  the 
Russians,  and  after  two  unsuccessful  attempts  were  obliged  to 
give  up  the  capture  of  the  Redan.  Major  General  Eyre  dis¬ 
tinguished  himself  by  gaining  a  portion  of  the  very  suburb  of 
the  city,  where,  in  the  shelter  of  several  houses,  he  maintained 
himself  the  whole  day. 


188 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  YIII. 


On  the  nineteenth  the  allies,  for  the  first  time  during  the 
siege,  asked  for  a  truce.  The  loss  of  both  sides  had  been  enor¬ 
mous.  The  Russians  counted  five  thousand  four  hundred  and 
forty-six,  of  whom  all  but  fifteen  hundred  were  the  result  of  the 
bombardment.  General  Todleben  was  wounded  in  the  head. 
The  English  lost  nearly  two  thousand,  among  whom  were  Sir 
John  Campbell,  who  was  killed ;  Sir  George  Brown,  General 
Eyre,  and  Harry  Jones,  who  were  wounded.  The  Erench 
killed,  wounded,  and  missing  amounted  to  more  than  three 
thousand  five  hundred. 

This  unfortunate  day  nearly  cost  Pelissier  the  chief  com- 
mand.  The  Emperor  ordered  Marshal  Vaillant  to  send  a 
despatch  to  the  Crimea  putting  General  Niel  in  Pelissier’s 
place.  But  the  minister  of  war,  being  convinced  that  it  would 
be  ruinous  to  remove  Pelissier,  took  it  upon  himself  to  send 
the  despatch  by  mail  rather  than  by  telegraph.  The  next  day 
the  Emperor  was  persuaded  that  Vaillant  was  right,  and  the 
letter  was  countermanded  when  it  had  reached  no  farther  than 
to  Marseilles.  Pelissier  retained  the  chief  command,  and  Gen¬ 
eral  Bosquet  returned  to  the  right  wing. 

After  the  defeat  of  the  eighteenth  of  June  much  sickness 
broke  out  in  the  allied  armies.  Nearly  a  sixth  of  the  Erench 
forces  were  in  the  hospitals.  Lord  Raglan,  overwhelmed  with 
fatigue  and  chagrin  at  his  ill  success,  fell  a  victim  to  the  chol¬ 
era,  and  died  on  the  twenty-eighth.  He  was  succeeded  by 
General  James  Simpson,  who  had  been  sent  by  Lord  Palmer¬ 
ston  on  a  mission  of  investigation.  One  of  the  last  acts  of  the 
Emperor  Nicholas  had  been  to  decree  that  every  month  of 
service  in  the  Crimea  should  count  as  a  year.  It  was  only  an 
act  of  justice  to  the  brave  army  of  defence,  who,  in  spite  of 
their  success  in  June,  saw  that  the  toils  of  the  enemy  were 
approaching  closer  and  closer.  General  Todleben  lay  with 
his  leg  badly  injured  by  a  cannon-ball,  and  from  his  couch 
still  directed  the  work  of  defence.  Nakhimof,  on  the  eleventh 
of  July,  was  observing  the  Erench  works  from  the  summit  of 


1855-  1856.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


189 


the  Malakof,  when  a  bullet  struck  him  in  the  head.  He  lived 
only  two  days.  The  Russian  army  suffered  from  lack  of 
provisions.  The  destruction  of  the  granaries  on  the  Sea  of 
Azof,  and  the  occupation  of  Kertch  and  Ienikale,  obliged 
them  to  bring  gram  from  a  distance  of  a  thousand  kilometers, 
over  roads  that  were  so  nearly  impassable  that  a  large  part  of 
the  provisions  were  often  consumed  before  they  reached  their 
destination.  All  of  these  disasters  and  difficulties  showed  that 
a  crisis  was  approaching.  This  was  still  more  plainly  proved 
on  the  sixth  of  August,  when,  under  the  direction  of  General 
Buchmeyer,  a  floating  bridge  across  the  harbor,  nine  hundred 
and  eighteen  meters  long  and  five  meters  wide,  was  begun. 
This  bridge,  connecting  Tort  Nikolai  with  Fort  Mikhail,  was 
completed  in  three  weeks,  and  assured  the  garrison  a  retreat  in 
case  of  need. 

On  the  ninth  of  August  Prince  Gortchakof  assembled  a 
council  of  war  by  which  the  question  was  discussed,  whether 
it  would  be  best  to  continue  the  passive  defence  of  Sevas¬ 
topol  with  no  distinct  end  in  view,  and  only  in  order  to  gain 
time  or  to  take  a  vigorous  offensive  against  the  enemy.  Gen¬ 
eral  Khrulef  wished  to  engage  in  the  most  radical  system  of 
offensive  warfare,  either  by  making  a  general  sortie  from  the 
Karabelna'ia  against  the  Victoria  redoubt  and  the  Green 
Mamelon,  or  by  destroying  the  city  and  attacking  the  allied 
army  with  all  the  Russian  forces.  General  Osten-Sacken  was 
in  favor  of  evacuating  the  city  and  taking  some  other  place  to 
defend.  Todleben,  wffio  was  at  Belbek,  laid  up  with  his 
wounds,  being  asked  his  opinion,  spoke  strongly  against  any 
such  measures,  seeing  that  the  enemy  were  far  superior  in 
numbers.  But  General  Vrevski,  who  had  been  sent  from 
Saint  Petersburg  especially  to  urge  a  decisive  action,  was  so 
strenuous  in  his  views,  that  finallv  Prince  Gortchakof  decided 
to  attack  the  allies  on  the  Tcherna'ia  River.  He  had,  however, 
small  hope  of  success.  The  day  before  he  gave  his  orders  he 
wrote  to  Prince  Dolgoruki,  Minister  of  War :  <£  There  is  no 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Cha*.  VIII. 


190 

doubt  about  it,  I  am  attacking  the  enemy  under  wretched 
circumstances.  His  position  is  very  strong  :  upon  his  right 
hand  Mount  Hasford,  almost  perpendicular,  and  well  fortified ; 
upon  his  left,  the  Fediukhin  heights,  at  the  foot  of  which  runs 
a  deep  canal  with  steep  banks  and  filled  with  water,  which 
cannot  be  crossed  except  upon  bridges  which  must  be  built 
under  the  direct  fire  of  the  enemy.  If  things  go  wrong  it 
will  not  be  my  fault.  I  have  done  my  best,  but  the  task  has 
been  too  difficult  ever  since  I  came  to  the  Crimea.” 

On  the  evening  of  the  fifteenth  of  August  the  Russian  corps 
camped  on  the  heights  of  Mackenzie  were  ordered  to  be  ready  to 
attack  the  enemy  at  daybreak.  The  French  general,  D’Allon- 
ville,  who  was  constantly  on  the  watch  for  any  movement 
among  the  Russians,  immediately  notified  Pelissier  that  an  at¬ 
tack  was  imminent.  General  Herbillon,  with  seventeen  thou¬ 
sand  eight  hundred  and  fifty-eight  men  and  forty-eight  cannon, 
was  encamped  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Tchernai'a,  occupying 
the  Fediukhin  heights.  The  Sardinian  army,  amounting  to 
about  nine  thousand  men,  was  on  Mount  Hasford,  with  thirty- 
six  field-pieces.  Gortchakof’s  whole  effective  force  was  seventy 
thousand,  and  the  march  from  the  heights  of  Mackenzie  to  the 
bridge  of  Traktir,  or  the  Tavern,  occupied  the  entire  night, 
although  the  distance  was  only  six  or  eight  kilometers.  A 
thick  fog  made  the  darkness  almost  impenetrable.  Gortcha¬ 
kofs  plan  was  to  divide  his  army  into  three  portions,  the  cav¬ 
alry  and  a  part  of  the  artillery  remaining  as  a  reserve,  with 
two  divisions  of  infantry,  in  the  middle  of  the  undulating 
plain,  while  General  Read  attacked  the  French,  and  General 
Liprandi  the  Sardinian  position.  The  reserves  could  then  be 
made  effective  to  complete  a  partial  victory  on  either  hand. 
Under  the  cover  of  the  fog  the  two  divisions  of  Liprandi 
endeavored  to  surprise  the  outposts  on  the  heights  of  Shuliu. 
They  succeeded  in  gaining  the  heights  of  Tchorgun,  where  they 
posted  a  battery  directed  against  Mount  Hasford.  Toward 
five  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  atmosphere  cleared,  and  the 


1855-1856.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


191 


grouping  of  the  various  forces  became  apparent.  Gortchakof 
was  about  to  make  Mount  Hasford  his  principal  point  of 
attack,  when,  without  waiting  for  the  order  to  begin  the  bat¬ 
tle,  Genera]  Read  crossed  the  Tchernaia  and  tried  to  storm 
the  Fediukhin  heights.  The  right  wing  drove  the  French 
from  the  Redan  which  faced  the  Traktir  bridge,  but  were 
completely  routed  by  Zouaves  and  Turcos  of  General  Camou, 
and  driven  across  the  river  again.  Meanwhile  the  centre, 
passing  the  narrow  but  deep  aqueduct  by  means  of  flying 
bridges,  began  to  press  heavily  against  the  weakened  division 
of  General  Faucheux,  which  was  relieved,  just  in  time,  by 
three  battalions  sent  by  General  Camou.  The  Russians  were 
driven  back  across  the  canal  and  the  river.  The  bridge 
remained  in  the  hands  of  the  French.  Liprandi  was  now 
called  down  from  the  heights  of  Tchorgun,  and  the  reserves 
were  brought  into  action. 

The  French  had  eighteen  field-pieces  on  the  Fediukhin 
heights,  which,  instead  of  replying  to  Gortchakofs  batteries, 
concentrated  their  fire  upon  the  Russian  infantry  massed 
near  the  Traktir  bridge.  Nevertheless,  the  bridge  was  again 
gained,  the  canal  crossed,  and,  for  the  third  time,  the  Russian 
infantry  dashed  up  the  face  of  the  slope.  Again  the  French 
came  down  against  them  like  an  avalanche.  For  a  few 
moments  there  was  a  fierce  struggle,  but  it  was  in  vain. 
The  Russians  began  to  give  way,  and  soon  their  rout  was 
complete.  The  aqueduct  and  the  Tchernaia  were  choked 
with  wounded  and  dying.  Many  were  drowned.  Generals 
Wranken,  Veimarn,  and  Tulubief  were  severely  wounded. 
General  Read  was  killed  by  a  bursting  bomb,  and  General 
Vrevski,  as  he  was  standing  by  Prince  Gortchakof,  had  his 
head  carried  off*  by  a  cannon-ball.  The  battle  of  the  Traktir 
had  failed.  About  nine  o’clock,  while  cannon-shots  were  still 
exchanged,  the  Russian  army  began  its  retreat.  It  was  far 
into  the  afternoon  before  the  last  company  had  disappeared. 

On  the  following  day  the  French  and  English  batteries 


192 


HISTORY  OT  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  VIII. 


began  in  concert  a  heavy  cannonading,  which  was  directed 
against  the  defences  of  the  Karabelnaia.  It  crumbled  the 
parapets,  and  dislodged  the  batteries ;  it  killed  the  garrison 
at  the  rate  of  a  thousand  men  every  four-and-twenty  hours. 
Meanwhile  the  sappers  and  miners  worked  steadily  at  their 
dangerous  task  of  advancing  the  parallels  nearer  and  nearer 
to  the  Malakof.  About  one  o’clock,  on  the  night  of  August 
twenty-ninth,  seven  thousand  kilograms  of  powder  and  three 
hundred  and  fifty  large  bombshells  accidentally  exploded  at 
once  in  the  Brancion  redoubt.  Masses  of  stones,  trunks  of 
trees,  and  fragments  of  iron  were  scattered  about  in  all  direc¬ 
tions,  into  the  Karabelnaia,  beyond  the  docks  and  among  the 
English  trenches.  Glass  was  broken  in  Eorts  Pavel  and  Niko¬ 
lai,  three  kilometers  distant.  Thirty-one  men  were  killed 
outright,  and  more  than  two  hundred  were  bruised  and 
wounded.  The  English  also  numbered  several  victims  of  the 
catastrophe.  Nevertheless,  amid  all  the  confusion  a  couple 
of  brave  gunners  calmly  proceeded  to  fire  all  the  uninjured 
cannon  in  the  battery  opposite  the  Malakof.  In  two  days  the 
last  traces  of  the  accident  had  disappeared;  the  immense 
hole,  twenty  meters  wide,  thirty  long,  and  four  deep,  was 
filled  up,  and  again  converted  into  a  redoubt.  As  the  works 
of  the  allied  armies  approached  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  Prus¬ 
sians,  their  losses  became  proportionally  heavy.  Their  trenches 
were  swept  by  the  ride-bullets  and  cannon-balls  sent  from  the 
Malakof  and  the  Redan.  The  Malakof  was  protected  by  a 
palisade  of  sharpened  stakes,  above  which  rose  a  parapet  of 
earthworks  more  than  six  meters  high  and  of  great  thickness. 
A  ditch  seven  meters  deep  and  eight  meters  wide  separated 
this  parapet  from  three  tiers  of  batteries  well  provided  with 
heavy  cannon.  Besides  the  sheltered  places  for  riflemen, 
there  was  a  large  space  enclosed  for  infantry. 

The  fifth  of  September  was  the  day  set  for  the  final  bom¬ 
bardment  of  Sevastopol.  On  the  eighth  the  assault  was  to 
take  place. 


1855  - 1856.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


193 


The  French  batteries  mounted  in  all  more  than  six  hun¬ 
dred  cannon.  The  English  had  about  two  hundred,  while,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  Russians,  according  to  Rousset,  had  thir¬ 
teen  hundred  and  eighty.  In  accordance  with  the  order,  the 
bombardment  began,  —  the  bombardment  which  Gortchakof 
characterized  as  infernal.  Rousset  thus  describes  the  final 
scenes :  — 

“  At  times  the  fire  diminished,  almost  ceased,  and  when 
the  enemy,  deceived  by  these  lulls,  and,  anxiously  on  the 
watch  for  the  assault,  issued  from  their  covers  to  mount  upon 
the  ramparts,  then  the  allied  batteries,  suddenly  firing  in  vol¬ 
leys,  overwhelmed  them  with  shot  and  shell.  This  first  day 
the  besieged  made  desperate  but  useless  efforts  to  sustain  the 
struggle.  The  night  caused  no  interruption  to  this  storm  of 
iron  and  of  fire ;  it  gave  only  a  more  terrific  expression  to  its 
fury.  The  spectacle  of  this  drama  had  an  awful  majesty. 
From  the  bosom  of  the  Great  Harbor,  beneath  a  sky  of  bril¬ 
liant  red,  a  column  of  flame  reflected  its  ruddy  glow  upon  the 
mountains  and  the  sea  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  A  great 
transport,  the  Berezan,  hit  by  a  red-hot  shell,  burned  like  an 
enormous  beacon  to  light  up  the  immense  spectacle.  The  two 
days  and  nights  which  followed  finished  the  ruin  of  what 
had  been  Sevastopol.  When  the  Russians,  after  the  peace, 
returned  once  more,  there  remained  standing  fourteen  houses, 
scattered  witnesses  of  its  ancient  splendor.  From  all  sides 
arose  the  smoke  of  burning  buildings  ;  and  on  the  night  of  the 
seventh  the  black  silhouettes  of  another  frigate,  and  then  of 
a  second  ship,  were  seen  amid  the  devouring  flames.  The 
frigate  held  two  hundred  tuns  of  alcohol ;  the  fiery  jets  with 
which  it  burned  cast  a  livid  tint  on  the  sides  of  the  bastions 
which  were  being  bombarded.  The  scene  now  was  terrible, 
and,  according  to  the  Russians  themselves,  it  produced  a  pain¬ 
ful  impression  on  the  minds  of  the  defenders  of  Sevastopol. 

“  The  enclosure  of  the  place  was  overturned.  All  that  the 
besieged  could  do  was  to  embank  the  powder-magazines,  to 

VOL.  TIT.  13 


194 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  VIIL 


strengthen  the  protections,  to  replace  at  least  a  few  of  the  dis¬ 
mounted  cannon,  and  to  clear  the  embrasures ;  but  at  the  price 
of  what  sacrifices !  On  the  seventh  it  cost  forty  killed  and 
wounded  to  maintain  one  single  gun.  In  the  evening,  about 
eleven  o’clock,  just  as  two  boats  from  the  north  shore,  with 
great  cargoes  of  powder,  were  coming  alongside  of  the  city 
wharf,  a  rocket  fell  hissing  upon  one  of  them.  The  explosion 
had  terrific  effects.  Everything  in  the  vicinity  was  destroyed. 
Heavy  thirty-six-pounders,  hurled  into  the  air,  fell  again  to  the 
earth  and  killed  many  persons.  The  powder  thus  destroyed 
was  meant  for  the  chambers  which  had  been  dug  under 
the  cornice  of  the  Malakof.  Eroin  the  seventeenth  of  August 
to  the  fourth  of  September  the  garrison  of  Sevastopol  had 
lost  twelve  thousand  seven  hundred  men.  In  the  three 
days  which  preceded  the  assault  it  lost  seven  thousand  five 
hundred  and  sixty.  During  these  three  weeks  the  French 
troops  had  three  thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifteen  men 
disabled.” 

After  the  battle  of  Traktir  Prince  Gortchakof  thought 
seriously  of  evacuating  Sevastopol.  On  the  twenty-fourth  of 
August  he  wrote  to  the  minister  of  war  that  there  was  not 
to  be  found  in  all  his  army  a  single  man  who  would  not  call 
it  madness  longer  to  continue  the  defence.  A  week  later  his 
mind  underwent  a  complete  change.  “  I  am  resolved,”  he 
wrote  to  the  same  minister  on  the  first  of  September,  —  "I 
am  resolved  to  continue  to  defend  the  south  side  with  all  our 
resources,  and  as  long  as  possible,  for  it  is  the  only  measure 
left  to  us.”  On  the  eighth  of  September  the  garrison  of 
Sevastopol  was  made  up  of  ninety-six  battalions  belonging  to 
forty  regiments  of  infantry,  of  one  battalion  of  sharpshooters, 
three  battalions  of  sappers,  three  cohorts  of  militia,  and  four 
thousand  gunners  from  the  fleet,  the  only  survivors  of  the 
eighteen  thousand  brave  marines  who  began  the  defence. 
The  actual  number  of  these  troops  was  about  fifty  thousand 
men. 


1855-1856.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


195 


Under  the  superior  authority  of  Count  Osten-Sacken,  chief 
of  the  whole  garrison,  General  Semiakin  commanded  in  the 
city.  Under  him  General  Khrushtchof  was  in  charge  of  the 
defence  of  the  first  section,  including  all  between  the  sea  and 
the  Central  Bastion.  The  second  section,  which  comprised 
the  Flagstaff  Battery,  was  under  command  of  General  Schultz. 
General  Khrulef  commanded  in  the  Karabelnaia.  The  three 
sections  of  the  suburb  corresponding  to  the  Great  Redan,  the 
Malakof,  and  the  Little  Redan  were  under  the  orders,  respec¬ 
tively,  of  General  Pavlof,  General  von  Bussau,  General  Saba- 
shinski.  The  special  reserve  of  Malakof  was  commanded  by 
General  Lisenko. 

Every  morning  since  the  fifth  of  September  the  Russians 
had  been  expecting  the  assault ;  but  as  time  went  by  with 
no  crisis,  they  imagined  that  the  eighth  day  would  pass  as 
the  preceding  had  done,  and,  when  the  lunch-hour  drew  nigh, 
they  for  the  most  part  withdrew  under  the  protection  of  their 
works. 

At  eleven  o'clock  General  Pelissier  took  his  position  in  the 
Brancion  redoubt  on  the  Green  Hill.  For  some  two  hours  the 
cannonading  had  been  carried  on  with  less  violence,  but  just 
before  twelve  it  began  again  with  full  vigor  and  lasted  twenty 
minutes ;  then  suddenly  it  stopped  entirely.  “The  bugles  sound, 
the  drums  beat,  the  men  are  on  the  double  quick.  The  last 
parallels  have  brought  them  within  twenty-five  meters  of  the 
Malakof,  and  the  Zouaves  of  the  first  regiment,  with  Colonel 
Collineau  at  their  head,  cross  the  space  at  a  bound.  They 
need  neither  flying  bridges  nor  ladders  ;  half  choked  up  by  the 
debris  of  the  escarp,  the  ditch  is  no  longer  an  obstacle.  The 
slope  is  mounted ;  some  leap  over  the  parapet ;  others,  under 
the  masks,  through  the  embrasures.  The  Russians  are  taken 
by  surprise ;  the  platform  in  front  of  the  Tower  has  at  first 
scarce  any  defenders,  with  the  exception  of  the  gunners,  who, 
armed  with  ramrods  and  handspikes,  sustain  the  struggle 
hand  to  hand,  and  are  killed,  bravely  standing  by  their  guns. 


196 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  VIIL 


The  soldiers  of  the  regiment  of  Modlin  have  been  kept  behind 
their  bomb-proofs  by  the  bombardment ;  now,  as  they  hear 
the  noise  of  the  assault,  they  hasten  forth,  but  in  confusion,  in 
straggling  groups,  without  any  fixed  purpose.  Meanwhile 
the  second  battalion  of  the  first  Zouaves,  then  the  seventh  in¬ 
fantry,  led  by  Colonel  Decaen,  come  to  reinforce  their  com¬ 
rades.  The  Russians  are  driven  back,  and  try  to  form  again 
behind  the  first  trenches  of  the  fortification.  General  von 
Bussau,  commander  of  the  redoubt,  the  colonel  of  the  regiment 
of  Modlin,  and  most  of  his  officers  are  killed. ” 

The  French  flag  floated  from  the  parapet  of  the  Malakof.  At 
the  Little  Redan,  after  a  temporary  success,  the  French  were 
driven  out  by  the  Russians.  The  English,  also,  attacked  the 
Great  Redan,  and  at  first  drove  back  the  regiment  of  Vladi¬ 
mir,  which  defended  it.  .  But  the  regiments  of  Kamtchatka, 
lakutsk,  and  Suzdal  came  to  their  assistance,  and  this  work 
was  regained  by  the  Russians.  Twice  the  English  tried  to 
win  it  back,  and  twice  were  they  driven  out  with  terrible 
slaughter.  Everywhere,  except  at  the  Malakof,  the  Russians 
were  successful ;  but  with  the  loss  of  that  important  fortifica¬ 
tion  all  was  lost.  General  Pelissier  thus  described  its  posi¬ 
tion  :  “  The  fortification  of  Malakof,  which  is  a  sort  of  citadel 
made  of  earth,  three  hundred  and  fifty  meters  long  by  one 
hundred  and  fifty  wide,  crowns  a  hill  which  commands  the 
whole  interior  of  the  Karabelnaia  suburb,  flanks  the  Redan 
attacked  by  the  English,  is  only  twelve  hundred  meters  from 
the  south  port,  and  threatens  the  only  anchorage  left  to  the 
vessels  as  well  as  the  only  way  of  retreat  open  to  the  Russians, 
—  the  bridge  of  boats  which  they  have  thrown  from  one  shore 
of  the  harbor  to  the  other/’  And  Malakof  was  fairly  won. 
About  five  o’clock  Prince  Gortchakof  gave  the  order  to  evacu¬ 
ate  the  south  side  of  the  city.  At  midnight  the  barricades 
were  left  deserted,  and  then  began  the  fires  and  explosions 
which  brought  back  the  memory  of  Moscow.  Throughout 
the  night  a  steady  stream  of  infantry  poured  across  the  bridge; 


1855-1856.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


197 


one  after  another  the  forts  were  blown  up,  —  the  Flagstaff  and 
Garden  batteries,  the  Quarantine,  Forts  Alexander  and  Niko¬ 
lai  ;  the  fleet  was  scuttled  and  sunk,  with  the  exception  of 
the  steamers,  which  were  busy  in  towing  across  boats  laden 
with  stores.  At  quarter  past  seven  the  bridge  was  severed 
from  the  south  side,  and  the  Russian  army  was  safe.  Dr.  Wil¬ 
liam  H.  Russell  expressed  the  general  dissatisfaction  with  the 
result  of  the  bombardment  and  assault,  when  he  wrote  as  fol¬ 
lows  to  the  London  Times  :  — 

“  This  Redan  cost  us  more  lives  than  the  capture  of  Badajoz, 
without  including  those  who  fell  in  its  trenches  and  approaches ; 
and  although  the  enemy  evacuated  it,  we  could  scarcely  claim 
the  credit  of  having  caused  them  such  loss  that  they  retired 
owing  to  their  dread  of  renewed  assault.  On  the  contrary, 
we  must  in  fairness  admit  that  the  Russians  maintained  their 
hold  of  the  place  till  the  French  were  established  in  the  Mala- 
kof,  and  the  key  of  the  position  was  torn  from  their  grasp. 
They  might,  indeed,  have  remained  in  the  place  longer  than 
they  did,  as  the  French  were  scarcely  in  a  condition  to  molest 
them  from  the  Malakof  with  artillery ;  but  the  Russian  gen¬ 
eral  possessed  too  much  genius  and  experience  as  a  soldier 
to  lose  men  in  defending  an  untenable  position,  and  his  retreat 
was  effected  with  masterly  skill  and  with  perfect  ease,  in  the 
face  of  a  victorious  enemy.  Covering  his  rear  by  the  flames  of 
the  burning  city,  and  by  tremendous  explosions  which  spoke 
in  tones  of  portentous  warning  to  those  who  might  have 
wished  to  cut  off  his  retreat,  he  led  his  battalions  in  narrow 
files  across  a  deep  arm  of  the  sea  which  ought  to  have  been 
commanded  by  our  guns,  and  in  the  face  of  a  most  powerful 
fleet.  He  actually  paraded  them  in  our  sight  as  they  crossed 
and  carried  off  all  his  most  useful  stores  and  munitions  of  war. 
He  left  us  few  trophies  and  many  bitter  memories.  He  sank 
his  ships  and  blew  up  his  forts  without  molestation ;  nothing 
was  done  to  harass  him  in  his  retreat,  with  the  exception  of 
some  paltry  efforts  to  break  down  the  bridge  by  cannon-shot 
or  to  shell  the  troops  as  they  marched  over.” 


198 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


rCHAP.  VIII. 


The  Russian  loss,  on  the  eighth  of  September,  amounted  to 
nearly  thirteen  thousand  men,  while  the  allies  had  a  total  of 
more  than  ten  thousand  killed,  wounded,  and  missing. 

On  the  eleventh  the  Trench  took  possession  of  the  city, 
while  the  English  established  themselves  in  the  Karabelna'ia. 
A  battery  was  immediately  directed  to  shell  the  steamboats 
which  had  taken  refuge  in  the  creeks  of  the  northern  side,  but 
before  the  first  shot  had  been  fired  the  Russians  themselves 
either  burnt  or  scuttled  them  all. 

The  allied  forces  now  amounted  to  about  two  hundred  and 
twenty-nine  thousand  men ;  and  Prince  Gortchakof,  having  just 
received  his  last  reinforcements,  was  able  to  oppose  to  them  an 
army  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand,  of  which  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifteen  thousand  were  concentrated  in  the  vicinity 
of  Sevastopol,  Baktchi-sarai,  and  Simferopol.  In  October,  by 
orders  sent  from  Paris  and  London;  a  powerful  fleet,  under 
Admirals  Bruat  and  Lyons,  was  sent  along  the  coast  for  the 
purpose  of  capturing  several  important  fortresses.  Kinburn 
was  situated  on  the  bay  of  the  Dnieper,  where  two  large 
rivers,  the  Dnieper  and  the  Bug,  united  their  waters.  About 
eleven  kilometers  from  the  mouth  of  the  latter  is  the  admi¬ 
ralty  town  of  Nikolaeif.  Kherson,  the  capital  of  the  govern¬ 
ment  of  the  Taurid,  is  situated  on  the  Dnieper.  The  entrance 
to  the  bay  is  narrow ;  it  was  then  defended  by  two  forts,  — 
Otchakof  on  the  north,  on  the  south  the  fortress  of  Kinburn, 
situated  on  a  narrow  tongue  of  sand.  The  fortress,  which 
mounted  eighty-eight  cannon  and  held  a  garrison  of  fifteen 
hundred  men,  was  under  the  command  of  General  Kohano- 
vitch.  The  fleet  came  within  sight  of  Odessa,  but  this  city 
was  spared  the  horrors  of  a  bombardment.  On  the  fourteenth 
of  September  they  anchored  off  Kinburn,  and  preparations 
were  made  to  storm  the  fort.  The  firing  began  three  days 
later  and  lasted  several  hours,  when  the  artillery  of  the  Rus¬ 
sians,  being  completely  disabled,  ceased  to  reply.  A  flag  was 
sent  to  the  commander,  and  he  was  allowed  to  surrender  as  a 


1855-1856.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


199 


prisoner  of  war.  The  next  day  the  Russians  themselves  blew 
up  Fort  Otchakof,  but  they  retained  the  towns  of  Arabat  and 
Genitchi,  and  the  allied  fleet,  after  leaving  a  strong  garrison 
at  Kinburn,  sailed  back  to  the  Crimea  without  having  accom¬ 
plished  much  of  decided  importance  beyond  the  destruction 
of  immense  quantities  of  provisions  and  ship-timber.  Napo¬ 
leon,  to  be  sure,  wished  to  make  Kinburn  a  base  of  opera¬ 
tions,  and  take  possession  of  the  left  bank  of  the  Dnieper. 
The  lateness  of  the  season,  however,  and  the  knowledge  that 
the  Russians  would  simply  withdraw  into  the  depths  of  the 
steppes,  decided  Pelissier  against  this  plan.  The  English 
were  bent  upon  driving  the  Russians  entirely  from  the  Cri¬ 
mea,  and  proposed  to  make  a  descent  upon  Kaffa,  and,  if  pos¬ 
sible,  capture  the  Russian  stores  at  Karazubazar ;  but  this  also 
was  not  listened  to  by  the  French.  About  this  time  General 
Simpson  was  succeeded  by  General  Coddington.  The  cam¬ 
paign  of  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-five  dragged  along  with 
no  actions  of  importance.  The  French  and  English  laborers 
dug  some  eighty  kilometers  of  trenches.  The  cannonading 
after  the  twenty-sixth  of  October  was  suspended  by  Marshal 
Pelissier,  but  was  kept  up  irregularly  by  the  Russians. 

On  the  fifteenth  of  November  a  powder-magazine  contain¬ 
ing  fifty  thousand  kilos  of  powder,  six  hundred  thousand  car¬ 
tridges,  four  thousand  bombs,  and  an  enormous  quantity  of 
rockets  and  explosives,  blew  up.  Dr.  Russell  says :  “  I  was 
riding  from  headquarters,  reading  my  letters,  and  had  just 
reached  the  hill  or  elevated  part  of  the  plateau  at  the  time, 
and  happened  to  be  looking  in  the  very  direction  of  the  park 
when  the  explosion  took  place.  The  phenomena  were  so 
startling  as  to  take  away  one’s  breath.  Neither  pen  nor  pen¬ 
cil  could  describe  them.  The  earth  shook.  The  strongest 
houses  rocked  to  and  fro.  Men  felt  as  if  the  very  ground 
upon  which  they  stood  was  convulsed  by  an  earthquake.  The 
impression  of  these  few  moments  can  never  be  eradicated. 
One’s  confidence  in  the  stability  of  the  very  earth  was  stag- 


200 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  VIE 


gered.  Suppositos  incedimus  ignes.  What  part  of  the  camp 
was  safe  after  such  a  catastrophe?  The  rush  of  fire,  smoke, 
and  iron,  in  one  great  pillar,  attained  a  height  I  dare  not  esti¬ 
mate,  and  then  seemed  to  shoot  out  like  a  tree  which  over¬ 
shadowed  half  the  camp  on  the  right  and  rained  down  missiles 
upon  it.  The  color  of  the  pillar  was  dark  gray,  flushed  with 
red,  but  it  was  pitted  all  over  with  white  puffs  of  smoke  which 
marked  the  explosions  of  the  shells.  It  retained  the  shape 
of  a  fir-tree  for  nearly  a  minute,  and  then  the  sides  began  to 
swell  out,  and  the  overhanging  canopy  to  expand  and  twist 
about  in  prodigious  wreaths  of  smoke,  which  flew  out  to  the 
right  and  left,  and  let  drop,  as  it  were,  from  solution  in  its 
embrace,  a  precipitate  of  shells,  carcasses,  and  iron  projectiles. 
The  noise  was  terrible,  and  when  the  shells  began  to  explode 
the  din  was  like  the  opening  crash  of  one  of  the  great  cannon¬ 
ades  or  bombardments  of  the  siege.” 

The  cause  of  the  explosion  was  not  absolutely  known.  It 
caused  the  French  a  loss  of  thirty-eight  dead  and  more  than 
a  hundred  wounded  ;  the  English,  twenty-one  dead  and  one 
hundred  and  sixteen  wounded. 

The  French  would  willingly  have  preserved  the  docks  and 
forts  which  had  been  built  at  enormous  expense,  and  seemed 
as  if  intended  to  outlive  time  itself.  Some  of  them  were 
hewn  out  of  solid  rock.  Many  of  the  soldiers  were  lodged 
in  large  buildings,  which  the  Russians  had  not  had  time  to 
destroy  before  they  left  the  city.  But  toward  the  middle  of 
January,  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-six,  orders  came  to  blow 
up  Fort  Nikolai  and  the  great  barracks.  It  was  no  small 
work  to  destroy  them.  Fort  Nikolai  required  fifty  thousand 
kilos  of  powder.  Colonel  Langlois  thus  described  its  destruc¬ 
tion  :  “  This  gigantic  mass,  which  seemed  indestructible,  we 
saw  uprooted,  rise  heavily  into  the  air,  then  its  walls,  a  mo¬ 
ment  before  so  beautiful,  were  thrown  down  in  horrible  chaos. 
All  its  parts,  broken  up,  crushed,  piled  together,  were  shot 
through  by  jets  of  murky  fire,  accompanied  by  thunder.  The 


1855  - 1856.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


201 


whole  thing  seemed  to  come  toward  us,  driven  by  the  wind, 
through  clouds  of  smoke  and  dust,  the  most  frightful,  the 
most  impenetrable  that  could  be  imagined.  The  attentive 
ear  could  hear  the  crash  of  the  avalanche  which  followed.  In 
one  instant  all  was  over,  and  of  this  immense  Fort  Nikolai 
there  remained  only  a  vast  shapeless  mound  where  not  a 
stone  nor  a  fragment  could  be  used  as  the  meanest  abode.” 

After  the  evacuation  of  Sevastopol  Russia  seemed  still  un¬ 
willing  to  submit.  Gortchakof  announced  to  the  army  assem¬ 
bled  on  the  north  side  of  the  harbor  that  he  would  “  not 
voluntarily  abandon  that  country  where  St.  Vladimir  had 
received  baptism.”  Alexander,  after  promising  the  Mus¬ 
covite  nobles  to  continue  the  war  for  the  sake  of  glory,  jour¬ 
neyed  to  the  south,  and  was  at  Nikolai’ef  when  Kinburn  was 
taken.  He  had  left  behind  him  an  encouraging  manifesto  to 
the  people.  “  I  take  the  present  and  past  occurrences,”  he 
said,  “  to  be  the  unsearchable  will  of  Providence,  who  has 
brought  upon  Russia  this  heavy  hour  of  trial.  But  Russia 
has  been  often  tried,  and  even  more  severely,  and  God,  the 
Lord,  has  always  sent  his  all-holy  and  invisible  aid.  So  now 
also  will  we  put  our  trust  in  him ;  he  will  be  a  protection  and 
guard  to  Russia,  to  orthodox  Russia,  which  has  taken  up 
arms  for  the  sake  of  the  right,  for  the  cause  of  Christianity. 
Comforting  to  me  are  the  continual  proofs  that  each  and  all 
are  ready  to  sacrifice  property,  family,  and  the  last  drops  of  life¬ 
blood,  in  order  to  sustain  the  integrity  of  the  empire  and  the 
honor  of  the  fatherland.  In  these  feelings  and  acts  of  the 
people  I  find  consolation  and  strength,  and,  bound  inseparably 
heart  and  hand  with  my  faithful  and  noble  people,  with  trust 
in  the  help  and  grace  of  God,  I  repeat  the  words  of  the  Em¬ 
peror  Alexander  the  First,  —  ‘  Where  right  is,  there  is  God/  ” 

Alexander  visited  the  Crimea  and  Sevastopol,  and  mourned 
over  the  ruins  of  the  fair  city.  The  Bee  newspaper  officially 
announced  to  Europe,  that  the  war  was  now  becoming  seri-  / 
ous,  and  that  since  Sevastopol  was  destroyed  a  stronger  for- 


202 


HISTOEY  OF  EUSSIA. 


[Chap.  VJII. 


tress  would  be  built.  Gortchakof  was  recalled,  and  General 
Liiders  was  put  in  command  of  the  army.  But  the  fact  could 
no  longer  be  disguised,  that  the  country  wished  for  peace. 
This  war  had  cost  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men.  An 
irredeemable  paper  currency  had  completely  driven  out  the 
precious  metals ;  the  banks  paid  only  in  paper,  and  that  of 
the  government  was  refused  by  the  public.  England,  how¬ 
ever,  manifested  the  most  warlike  disposition.  Under  Lord 
Palmerston  and  Lord  Panmure  its  army  was  newly  organized 
and  abundantly  equipped.  Prom  a  lack  of  men  and  equip¬ 
ment  it  had  passed  almost  to  the  other  extreme.  The  war 
party  were  anxious  to  retrieve  England’s  reputation,  and  show 
the  world  that  its  prowess,  under  more  favorable  circumstan¬ 
ces,  could  equal  that  of  Erance.  They  felt,  too,  that  Russia 
had  not  been  sufficiently  humiliated.  But  Austria,  now  that 
the  allies  had  proved  themselves  successful,  again  came  to  the 
front  with  proposals  of  peace.  Russia  was  more  inclined  to 
treat,  for  the  reason  that  since  June  its  army  operating  in 
Turkish  Armenia  and  Georgia  had  been  victorious.  General 
Muravief,  after  a  long  siege  of  Kars,  which  was  gallantly  de¬ 
fended  by  Colonel  William,  an  Englishman  in  the  service  of 
Turkey,  obliged  the  garrison  to  capitulate  on  the  twenty-fifth  of 
November.  The  news  of  this  success  partially  consoled  Rus¬ 
sia’s  military  vanity.  Napoleon,  also,  was  anxious  to  come  to 
an  understanding.  He  wished  to  be  the  one  to  restore  peace 
to  Europe.  He  took  pains  to  communicate  his  pacific  desires  to 
the  Court  of  Saint  Petersburg.  Count  Esterhazy  left  Vienna 
in  the  middle  of  December,  carrying  to  the  Russian  Emperor 
a  note  in  the  threatening  form  of  an  ultimatum,  which  con¬ 
tained  the  original  four  guarantees,  revised  and  changed  to 
suit  the  changed  circumstances.  The  Russian  cabinet  was 
particularly  displeased  with  the  proposal  to  rectify  the  borders 
of  Bessarabia,  which  was  practically  a  plan  to  cause  Russia 
to  give  up  part  of  its  territory.  Since  the  capture  of  Kars, 
it  had  been  confidently  hoped  that  that  stronghold  might  be 


1855-1856.] 


THE  CEIMEAN  WAR. 


203 


exchanged  for  Sevastopol,  Eupatoria,  Kinburn,  and  Kertch. 
But  no  modification  would  be  admitted  in  the  ultimatum. 
After  a  long  struggle,  during  which  Count  Esterhazy  nearly 
broke  off  the  negotiations,  Alexander  was  brought  to  sign  the 
preliminaries  of  peace  on  the  basis  proposed.  On  the  six¬ 
teenth  of  January  the  Tsar  yielded.  On  February  first  a 
protocol,  signed  at  Vienna,  officially  ratified  the  adhesion  of 
France  and  England  to  the  Austrian  propositions,  and  named 
Paris  as  the  place  where  the  congress  should  meet  to  regulate 
the  treaty. 

TREATY  OP  PARIS. 

England  was  represented  by  Lord  Clarendon  and  Lord 
Cowley,  France  by  Count  Walewski  and  Baron  de  Bourque- 
ney ;  the  Grand-Vizier  Ali-Pasha  and  Diemil-Bey  were  sent 
by  Turkey,  Cavour  and  the  Marquis  de  Villamarina  by  Sar¬ 
dinia;  Austria  sent  Buol-Schauenstein  and  Baron  von  Hiibner ; 
Russia  was  represented  by  Baron  Brunof  and  Alexei  Orlof. 
They  met  at  the  office  of  Foreign  Affairs.  The  hall  was 
magnificently  decorated ;  a  table  covered  with  green  cloth 
was  arranged  with  twelve  seats.  All  reporters  were  ex¬ 
cluded,  with  the  exception  of  Benedetti,  who  was  made  sec¬ 
retary.  Count  Walewski  was  unanimously  chosen  president. 
An  armistice,  to  last  till  March  thirty-first,  was  immediately 
agreed  upon  and  telegraphed  to  the  Crimea.  The  allied 
armies  received  the  news  with  exultation  ;  the  Russians,  in  sul¬ 
len  silence. 

It  was  proposed  to  discuss  first  of  all  the  third  point,  and 
the  question  arose  whether  the  arsenal  at  Nikolaief  should  be 
destroyed.  Lord  Clarendon  recognized  that  Nikolaief  was 
not  on  the  Black  Sea,  but  he  claimed  that  ship-yards  were 
contradictory  to  the  principle  established  in  the  preliminaries. 
But  finally,  when  it  was  formally  promised  in  the  name  of 
the  Tsar  that  the  ship-yards  on  the  Bug  should  not  be  em¬ 
ployed  for  any  considerable  works,  the  plenipotentiaries  de- 


204 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  VIII. 


dared  that  they  were  satisfied.  This  was  considered  an 
auspicious  beginning. 

The  second  point,  which  included  the  question  of  territory 
to  be  taken  from  Russia  in  exchange  for  Sevastopol  and  the 
other  towns  occupied  by  the  allies,  caused  some  difficulty. 
The  restitution  of  Kars  was  not  considered  sufficient,  a  strip 
of  land  must  be  taken  from  Bessarabia  and  added  to  Molda¬ 
via.  This  included  the  important  towns  of  Ismail  and  Reni. 
It  was  the  Austrian  representatives  who  were  strongest  in  favor 
of  keeping  Russia  entirely  from  the  Danube.  The  discussion 
lasted  through  two  sittings.  The  “  duel  ”  finally  was  ended 
by  the  success  of  Austria.  Count  Orlof  bent  over  to  his 
neighbor  Cavour,  and  said,  “  The  Austrian  plenipotentiary 
does  not  know  what  this  rectification  of  border  will  cost  his 
country  in  tears  and  blood.”  B  run  of,  too,  had  expressed  his 
dissatisfaction  with  the  Austrian  arrogance  by  this  muttered 
criticism :  “  Count  Buol  speaks  as  if  Austria  had  taken  Sevas¬ 
topol.”  The  sittings  were  interrupted  in  the  middle  of  March 
by  the  birth  of  a  son  to  Napoleon.  When  they  were  resumed, 
on  the  eighteenth,  Baron  von  Manteuffel,  Prussian  Prime  Min¬ 
ister,  and  Count  von  Hatzfeld  were  admitted  to  the  congress. 
The  only  point  left  to  decide  was  the  relation  which  Turkey 
should  bear  toward  Europe,  and  the  difficult  question  as  to 
the  treatment  of  the  Christian  population  under  the  Ottoman 
control.  The  question  was  thus  settled :  “  The  Emperor  of 
the  French,  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  the  Queen  of  Great 
Britain,  the  King  of  Prussia,  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  and  the 
King  of  Sardinia  declare  that  the  Sublime  Porte  is  admitted  to 
share  the  advantages  of  international  law  and  European  con¬ 
cert.  Their  majesties  agree,  each  separately,  to  respect  the 
territorial  independence  and  integrity  of  the  Ottoman  Empire, 
and  in  common  to  guarantee  the  strict  observance  of  this 
engagement,  and  will  consider,  consequently,  every  act  tend¬ 
ing  to  attack  it  as  a  question  of  general  interest.  .  .  .  His  maj¬ 
esty,  the  Sultan,  in  his  constant  solicitude  for  the  well-being 


1855  - 1856.] 


THE  CRIMEAN  WAR. 


205 


of  liis  subjects,  having  granted  a  firman,  which,  by  ameliorat¬ 
ing  their  lot  without  distinction  of  religion  or  race,  consecrates 
his  generous  intentions  towards  the  Christian  populations  of 
his  empire,  and,  wishing  to  give  a  new  proof  of  his  sentiments 
in  this  respect,  has  resolved  to  communicate  to  the  contracting 
powers  the  said  firman,  which  is  the  spontaneous  utterance  of 
his  sovereign  will.  The  contracting  powers  declare  the  great 
value  of  this  communication.  It  is  perfectly  understood  that 
in  no  case  does  it  give  the  said  powers  the  right  to  interfere 
either  collectively  or  separately  with  the  relations  of  his  maj¬ 
esty  the  Sultan  and  his  subjects,  nor  with  the  interior  admin¬ 
istration  of  his  empire/’ 

Peace  was  signed  on  the  thirtieth  of  March,  on  the  following 
basis :  Russia  renounced  its  exclusive  right  of  protection  over 
the  Danubian  principalities,  and  all  interference  with  their 
internal  affairs.  The  free  navigation  of  the  Danube  was  to  be 
effectually  secured  by  the  establishment  of  a  commission  in 
which  the  contracting  parties  should  be  represented.  Each  of 
them  should  have  the  right  to  station  two  sloops  of  war  at  the 
mouth  of  the  river.  Russia  consented  to  a  rectification  of 
frontiers  which  should  leave  Turkey  and  the  Rumanian  prin¬ 
cipalities  all  the  Danubian  delta.  The  Black  Sea  was  made 
neutral  ground ;  its  waters,  open  to  merchant-ships  of  all 
nations,  were  forbidden  to  men-of-war,  whether  of  powers 
owning  the  coasts  or  of  any  others.  No  military  or  maritime 
arsenals  were  to  be  created  there.  Turkey  and  Russia  could 
maintain  each  six  steamboats  of  eight  hundred  tons,  and  four 
of  two  hundred  to  guard  the  coast.  The  hatti  sherif,  by  which 
the  Sultan  Abdul-Medjid  renewed  the  privileges  of  his  non- 
Mussulman  subjects,  was  inserted. 

Thus  ended  the  Crimean  war.  When  the  news  came  to 
Sevastopol,  the  armies  which  had  been  opposed  to  each  other 
in  so  many  deadly  battles  began  to  fraternize.  Social  gatherings 
and  complimentary  reviews  took  the  place  of  sorties  and  hand- 
to-hand  conflicts.  The  past  was  forgotten.  The  garrisons 


206 


HISTORY  OP  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  VIII. 


were  recalled  from  Kinburn,  Eupatoria,  and  Kertch.  Prepa¬ 
rations  were  made  to  leave  the  place  where  so  much  suffering 
had  been  undergone,  where  so  many  glorious  deeds  had  been 
done.  By  the  beginning  of  July  the  last  Erench  soldier 
had  gone.  Pelissier  was  received  with  rapturous  enthusiasm. 
Napoleon  gave  him  the  title  of  “  Due  de  Malakof/’  But  the 
results  of  the  war  were  to  be  long  felt  in  all  the  countries 
of  Europe.  Prance  counted  more  than  eighty  thousand  men 
who  were  killed  or  died  of  disease  and  exposure,  besides  thou¬ 
sands  who  came  home  only  to  die.  England  lost  twenty-two 
thousand,  the  Piedmontese  army  a  tenth  of  that  number ;  the 
Turks  upwards  of  thirty  thousand.  It  cost  England  in  money 
alone  fifty  million  pounds  sterling. 

Russia  lost  by  the  treaty  of  Paris  both  the  control  of  the 
Black  Sea  and  the  protectorate  of  the  Eastern  Christians,  thus 
annihilating  the  fruits  of  the  policy  of  Peter  the  Great,  Anna, 
Catherine  the  Second,  and  Alexander  the  Pirst.  Thus  they 
were  compelled  to  ruin  the  fleets  and  naval  arsenals  created  by 
Potemkin,  the  Due  de  Richelieu,  the  Marquis  de  Traversay, 
and  Admiral  Lazeref.  Thus  the  fortresses  of  Sevastopol,  Kin- 
burn,  and  Ienikale  were  deserted.  The  treaties  of  Ka’inardji, 
Bukarest,  and  Adrianople  were  made  of  no  avail,  and  the 
hopes  of  conquest  and  dominion  to  which  they  had  given  rise 
were  all  destroyed.  The  imprudent  policy  of  Nicholas  had 
cancelled  the  work  which  two  centuries  of  successful  progress 
had  accomplished. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


ALEXANDER  THE  SECOND  AND  THE 

REFORMS. 

1856  - 1877. 

Imperial  Manifestoes  and  Decrees.  —  The  Act  of  the  Nineteenth 
of  February,  Eighteen  Hundred  and  Sixty-one:  Judicial  Re¬ 
forms  ;  Local  Self-government.  —  The  Polish  Insurrection.  — - 
Intellectual  Movement  :  Material  Progress  :  Education. 


IMPERIAL  MANIFESTOES  AND  DECREES. 

ON  the  thirty-first  of  March  the  Emperor  announced  the 
conclusion  of  peace  in  the  following  manifesto :  “  The 
bloody  and  obstinate  war  which  for  nearly  three  years  has 
been  disquieting  Russia  is  now  ended.  It  was  not  instigated 
by  Russia,  and  even  before  it  began  our  Father  of  imperish¬ 
able  memory,  who  now  rests  in  God,  solemnly  declared  to  all 
his  faithful  subjects,  as  well  as  to  all  foreign  powers,  that  the 
sole  aim  of  his  endeavors  and  wishes  was  to  assure  the  rights 
of  our  co-religionists  in  the  East,  and  to  protect  them  from 
every  form  of  oppression.  A  stranger  to  selfish  designs,  he 
had  no  thought  that  his  righteous  demands  would  lead  to  the 
horrors  of  war.  These  horrors  he  looked  upon  with  deep 
pain  as  a  Christian  and  the  sympathetic  father  of  the  people 
that  God  had  intrusted  to  his  care,  and  he  did  not  cease  to 
reiterate  his  desire  for  peace.  But  no  result  followed  the 
negotiations,  which  shortly  before  his  death  were  opened, 
touching  the  conditions  of  this  peace  alike  necessary  to  all 
nations.  The  powers  which  had  formed  an  alliance  hostile  to 
us  continued  to  expend  their  strength  in  warlike  preparations. 


208 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  IX. 


The  war  took  its  coarse,  and  we  have  continued  it  with  abso¬ 
lute  confidence  in  the  grace  of  the  Almighty,  with  firm  trust 
in  the  invincible  zeal  of  our  beloved  subjects. 

“  They  have  justified  our  expectations.  In  this  time  of 
heavy  trials  our  faithful  brave  armies,  as  well  as  all  classes 
of  the  Russian  people,  have  shown  themselves  worthy  of  their 
high  calling.  In  our  whole  Empire,  from  the  shores  of  the 
Pacific  even  to  the  Black  and  Baltic  Seas,  has  prevailed  the 
single  thought,  the  single  resolution,  to  fulfil  duty,  to  protect 
the  fatherland  at  any  cost  of  property  or  life.  Husbandmen, 
who  had  never  left  the  plough  and  the  fields  which  they  culti¬ 
vated,  hastened  to  take  up  arms  for  the  holy  struggle,  and  were 
not  inferior  to  our  experienced  warriors  in  bravery  and  self- 
renunciation.  New  and  brilliant  heroic  deeds  have  glorified 
even  these  latter  days  of  our  contest  with  mighty  opponents. 
The  enemy  was  driven  back  from  the  coasts  of  Siberia  and  the 
White  Sea,  as  well  as  from  the  walls  of  Sveaborg,  and  the 
courageous  defence  of  the  southern  ports  of  Sevastopol  for 
eleven  months,  in  the  face  and  under  the  fire  of  the  besiegers, 
will  live  in  the  memory  of  the  latest  posterity.  In  Asia,  after 
the  famous  victories  of  the  two  preceding  campaigns,  Kars, 
together  with  its  numerous  garrison,  which  comprised  almost 
the  whole  male  population  of  Anatolia,  was  obliged  to  surren¬ 
der  to  us,  and  the  best  Turkish  troops  coming  to  its  assist¬ 
ance  were  compelled  to  retreat.” 

This  manifesto  then  went  on  to  commend  the  result  of  the 
peace  in  the  establishment  of  the  rights  of  the  Christians,  and 
declared  that  the  concessions  made  were  inconsiderable.  It 
ended  with  the  expression  of  a  wish  for  righteousness  and 
mildness,  so  that  all  might  enjoy  the  fruit  of  peaceful  labor 
under  the  protection  of  the  laws. 

During  the  year  which  followed  the  signing  of  the  Paris 
treaty,  Alexander  issued  decrees  allowing  foreign  ships  to 
enter  Russian  ports,  and  establishing  the  northwestern  prov¬ 
inces  on  a  peace  footing.  The  law  of  eighteen  hundred  and 


1856-1877.]  ALEXANDER  II.  AND  THE  REFORMS. 


209 


forty-nine,  which  limited  the  number  of  students  in  the  uni¬ 
versities  to  only  three  hundred,  was  repealed,  the  excessive 
fee  for  passports  was  abolished,  new  journals  and  newspapers 
were  allowed  to  be  published,  and  the  disgraceful  schools,  to 
which  soldiers  were  obliged  to  send  their  sons,  were  restricted. 
Alexander,  meeting  the  joyous  and  expectant  minds  of  his  peo¬ 
ple  with  these  concessions,  became  popular.  De  Mazade  tells  of 
a  witty  Russian  who  said,  if  Nicholas  had  forbidden  his  subjects 
to  appear  in  the  streets,  and  if  Alexander  had  only  revoked  this 
prohibition,  he  would  have  been  immediately  regarded  by  the 
Russians  as  one  of  the  most  free-minded  monarchs  of  his  day. 

Alexander’s  programme  for  the  future  was  hinted  at  in  an 
address  which  he  made  to  the  deputies  sent  to  him  by  the 
national  aristocracy  at  the  time  when  he  went  to  Moscow  to 
celebrate  the  declaration  of  peace  :  “  Gentlemen,  the  war  is  at 
an  end,  for  before  I  left  Saint  Petersburg  I  hastened  to  ratify 
the  treaty  of  peace  which  had  been  signed  in  Paris  by  the  as¬ 
sembled  plenipotentiaries.  I  am  glad  to  be  able  officially  to 
communicate  these  tidings  to  you,  and  to  repeat  in  presence  of 
the  nobility  of  Moscow  the  words  which  I  addressed  to  my 
people  in  my  last  manifesto.  Russia  had  the  ability  to  defend 
itself  with  energy  for  years,  and  I  am  convinced  that  whatever 
forces  should  be  raised  against  it,  it  would  be  invincible  in  its 
own  territory.  Yet  for  the  best  interests  of  the  land  I  was 
obliged  to  listen  to  such  propositions  as  were  consistent  with 
our  national  honor.  War  is  an  exceptional  state  of  affairs, 
and  the  greatest  results  gained  from  it  scarcely  balance  the 
evils  which  it  brings  in  its  train.  It  had  interrupted  the  trade 
of  the  kingdom  with  the  majority  of  the  nations  of  Europe. 
But  undoubtedly  I  should  have  continued  the  struggle,  had 
not  the  voice  of  the  neighboring  nations  spoken  out  against 
the  policy  of  previous  years.  My  father,  of  imperishable 
memory,  had  his  reasons  for  proceeding  as  he  did.  I  knew 
his  plans,  and  they  had  my  heartiest  sympathy.  But  the  end 
that  he  had  in  view  will  be  reached  by  the  Treaty  of  Paris, 


210 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  IX. 


and  this  way  I  prefer  to  war.  There  are  many  among  you, 
I  know  well,  who  regret  that  I  assented  so  quickly  to  the 
propositions  laid  before  me.  It  was  my  duty,  as  a  man  and 
the  head  of  a  great  empire,  without  delay  either  to  reject  or 
accept  them.  This  duty  I  have  fulfilled  faithfully  and  con¬ 
scientiously.  I  am  convinced  that,  under  the  difficulties  of 
the  situation,  it  will  be  to  my  advantage,  and  that,  erelong, 
every  devoted  friend  of  Russia  will  acknowledge  the  wisdom 
of  my  purposes  and  plans  for  the  future  of  the  land.  Even 
on  the  supposition  that  fortune  had  remained  as  steadfastly 
on  our  side  as  it  did  in  Asia,  still  the  empire  would  have  ex¬ 
hausted  its  resources  by  maintaining  considerable  armies  at 
different  places,  and  at  the  same  time  the  greater  part  of  the 
soldiers  would  have  been  withdrawn  from  agriculture  and 
manufacture.  Even  in  the  government  of  Moscow,  mills, 
machine-shops,  and  factories  had  closed  their  doors.  I  prefer 
the  actual  prosperity  of  the  arts  of  peace  to  the  idle  glory  of 
battles.  Accordingly  I  have  opened  the  Russian  ports  to 
trade,  the  boundaries  to  the  free  exchange  of  foreign  com¬ 
modities.  I  desire  that  in  the  future  the  barter  of  the  products 
of  all  lands  and  the  raw  goods  or  manufactures  to  which  our 
soil  gives  rise  may  be  as  free  as  possible  in  our  markets. 
Hereafter  many  projects  will  be  submitted  to  your  judgment 
which  will  aim  to  promote  internal  industry,  and  I  desire  that 
every  noble  man  should  manifest  his  interest.” 

Alexander  the  Second  was  crowned  on  the  seventh  of  Sep¬ 
tember,  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-six.  Previous  to  the  coro¬ 
nation  he  went  to  Warsaw,  where  he  promised  the  Polish 
nobles  that  they  should  be  treated  with  the  consideration  due 
to  the  members  of  the  family  of  which  he  was  the  head.  He 
ended  his  address  to  their  marshals  with  the  warning  that  they 
should  cease  to  indulge  in  chimerical  notions.  Forgetfulness 
of  the  past  was  the  key-note  of  the  Emperor’s  promise,  but 
their  future  happiness  would  depend  upon  their  wisdom  and 
their  renunciation  of  visionary  projects.  Contrary  to  prece- 


1856-1877.]  ALEXANDER  II.  AND  THE  REFORMS. 


211 


dent,  the  Emperor  continued  his  journey  to  Berlin,  where  he 
was  received  in  great  honor  by  the  Prussian  princes.  Austria 
was  not  visited.  Alexander  returned  by  the  way  of  the  Baltic 
provinces,  and  in  his  addresses  held  out  to  them  the  promise 
of  important  reforms. 

On  the  very  day  of  his  coronation  appeared  the  long- 
expected  manifesto,  which  was  written  in  that  mystic  religious 
tone  peculiar  to  the  Russian  Tsars.  It  dealt  first  wTith  the 
orders  and  decorations  to  be  granted  to  those  who  had  served 
faithfully  in  the  Crimean  war,  —  soldiers  of  all  ranks,  sur¬ 
geons,  civilians,  chaplains,  noblemen.  Certain  provinces  had 
suffered  peculiarly  from  the  effects  of  the  war ;  the  Taurid, 
Bessarabia,  the  governments  of  Kherson,  Iekaterinoslaf,  and 
the  coasts  of  the  Baltic  had  been  laid  desolate ;  the  manifesto 
promised  peculiar  indulgences  and  assistance  to  these,  in  order 
that  the  last  traces  of  the  ruin  might  disappear  as  soon  as  pos¬ 
sible.  The  Emperor  then,  in  a  series  of  thirty-eight  articles, 
made  provision  for  freeing  the  country  from  certain  burdens 
which,  in  its  impoverished  condition,  were  unendurable.  The 
most  important  of  these  were  the  conscriptions  and  the  taxes. 
A  new  census  was  promised,  by  which  the  rates  of  taxation 
might  be  equalized.  No  conscription  should  take  place  for 
four  years,  unless  it  were  made  absolutely  necessary  by  some 
unforeseen  complication.  Both  of  these  ordinances  were  of 
great  importance,  because  the  pecuniary  ability  of  the  noblesse 
depended  upon  the  laborers,  and  the  army  had  drained  away 
from  agriculture  so  many,  that  the  proprietors  were  threatened 
with  ruin,  and  some  were  unable  to  pay  even  the  capitation 
taxes.  Debts  of  private  persons  in  arrears  to  the  state  were 
remitted,  aggregating  twenty-four  million  rubles.  The  posi¬ 
tion  of  the  Jews  was  somewhat  improved,  and  it  was  decreed 
that  the  children  of  soldiers  and  sailors,  who  formerly  had 
belonged  to  the  state,  should  be  restored  to  their  parents,  and 
allowed  to  choose  their  own  profession.  The  manifesto  finally 
took  up  the  subject  of  pardons  for  political  crimes.  Some  of 


212 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  IX. 


these  prisoners  were  allowed  greater  liberties  in  the  places 
of  their  banishment ;  others  were  granted  permission  to  choose 
a  residence  in  the  interior  provinces  of  Russia ;  and  still  others 
were  allowed  to  live  anywhere  in  the  whole  empire,  including 
Poland,  with  the  exception  of  the  two  capitals,  Saint  Peters¬ 
burg  and  Moscow.  Among  those  pardoned  were  the  survivors 
of  the  revolution  of  eighteen  hundred  and  twenty-five,  the  par¬ 
ticipators  in  the  troubles  caused  by  the  secret  societies  in  eigh¬ 
teen  hundred  and  twenty-seven,  and  the  Polish  conspirators  of 
eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-one.  The  patent  of  hereditary 
nobility  was  restored  to  many  who  still  survived,  or  was  given 
to  their  legitimate  children.  This  measure  was  of  great  con¬ 
sequence,  because  more  than  a  hundred  of  the  principal  boyar 
families  had  been  implicated  in  the  revolution  with  which 
Nicholas’s  reign  began,  and  there  was  scarcely  a  family  in 
Poland  which  had  not  sent  a  member  to  the  mines  or  wastes 
of  Siberia. 

The  Emperor  signed  also,  on  the  seventh  of  September,  a 
number  of  different  decrees,  the  execution  of  which  occupied 
the  administration  during  the  rest  of  the  year.  They  were 
mainly  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  the  manifesto. 

ACT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH  OF  FEBRUARY,  EIGHTEEN 

HUNDRED  AND  SIXTY-ONE:  JUDICIAL  REFORMS; 

LOCAL  SELF-GOVERNMENT. 

In  the  manifesto  which  announced  to  his  people  the  ter¬ 
mination  of  the  Eastern  war,  Alexander  expressed  his  convic¬ 
tion  that  “by  the  combined  efforts  of  the  government  and 
the  people”  the  public  administration  would  be  improved, 
and  that  justice  and  mercy  would  reign  in  the  courts  of 
law.  He  understood  that  the  disasters  of  the  Danube 
and  the  Crimea  must  in  a  great  measure  be  imputed  to  the 
administration,  protected  as  it  was  by  the  silence  of  public 
opinion,  the  slavery  of  the  press,  and  the  rigor  of  the  police 
and  of  the  censorship.  The  events  of  eighteen  hundred  and 


i856-1877.]  ALEXANDER  II.  AND  THE  REFORMS. 


216 


fifty-five  taught  the  important  lesson  that  a  people  in  which 
the  majority  of  the  agricultural  classes  was  subjected  to 
serfage  could  not  rival  the  European  nations  in  intellectual, 
scientific,  or  industrial  progress,  and  it  is  clear  that,  in  modern 
warfare,  success  is  the  resultant  of  all  the  moral  and  material 
forces  of  a  state.  The  system  of  governing  Russia  without 
giving  the  people  a  voice  in  the  management  of  their  own 
affairs,  of  conducting  all  public  business  in  the  routine  and 
silence  of  the  bureaux,  was  condemned.  The  officials,  so 
haughty  under  Nicholas,  bowed  their  heads  under  the  pub¬ 
lic  execration.  The  term  tchinovnik ,  which  once  had  so 
formidable  a  meaning,  became  a  term  of  derision  and  con¬ 
tempt  ;  public  opinion  naturally  associated  it  with  everything 
superannuated,  ridiculous,  or  odious.  The  servants  of  the 
autocracy,  who  had  formerly  flaunted  their  official  rank  on 
all  occasions,  now  overwhelmed  by  the  weight  of  a  crushing 
responsibility,  showed  that  they  felt  half  ashamed  by  taking 
pains  to  hide  their  pompous  titles  and  the  decorations  which  no 
longer  commanded  respect.  It  seemed  as  if  the  conservative 
Russia  of  Nicholas  the  First  had  sunk  into  the  earth ;  every 
one  called  himself  a  Liberal.  A  breath  of  audacious  hope,  of 
courageous  enterprise,  passed  through  the  country.  “  All 
thirsted  for  reforming  activity.  The  men  in  authority  were 
inundated  with  projects  of  reform,  —  some  of  them  anonymous, 
and  others  from  obscure  individuals ;  some  of  them  practi¬ 
cal,  and  very  many  wildly  fantastic.  Even  the  grammarians 
showed  their  sympathy  with  the  spirit  of  the  time  by  propos¬ 
ing  to  expel  summarily  all  redundant  letters  from  the  Russian 
alphabet !  The  fact  that  very  few  people  had  clear,  precise 
ideas  as  to  what  was  to  be  done  did  not  prevent,  but  rather 
tended  to  increase,  the  reform  enthusiasm.  All  had  at  least  one 
common  feeling,  —  dislike  to  what  had  previously  existed.  It 
was  only  when  it  became  necessary  to  forsake  pure  negation, 
and  to  create  something,  that  the  conceptions  became  clearer, 
and  a  variety  of  opinions  appeared.  At  the  first  moment 


214 


HISTORY  OP  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  IX 


there  was  merely  unanimity  in  negation,  and  an  impulsive 
enthusiasm  for  beneficent  reforms  in  general.” 

The  movement,  which  in  eighteen  hundred  and  one  affected 
only  those  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Alexander,  now  spread 
throughout  Russia.  A  thousand  voices  were  raised  in  the 
papers,  in  the  reviews,  and  in  the  books,  all  suddenly  emanci¬ 
pated;  in  the  drawing-rooms  and  in  the  streets,  where  the 
bewildered  police  forgot  to  spy.  What  had  been  whispered 
timidly  in  the  manuscript  literature  of  the  last  months  of 
Nicholas  was  now  printed  freely.  “  The  heart  trembles  with 
joy,”  said  one  of  the  leading  organs  of  the  press,  “  in  expecta¬ 
tion  of  the  great  social  reforms  which  are  on  the  point  of  being 
carried  out,  —  reforms  which  are  thoroughly  in  accordance 
with  the  spirit,  wishes,  and  hopes  of  the  public.  The  ancient 
harmony  and  community  of  sentiment  which,  in  all  but  short 
and  exceptional  periods,  have  always  existed  between  the 
government  and  the  people,  are  completely  re-established. 
The  absence  of  all  sentiment  of  caste,  the  feeling  of  common 
origin  and  brotherhood,  which  binds  all  classes  of  the  Russian 
people  into  a  homogeneous  whole,  will  permit  the  easy  and 
peaceful  fulfilment,  not  only  of  those  great  reforms  which  cost 
Europe  centuries  of  struggle  and  bloodshed,  but  also  many 
reforms  that  the  nations  of  the  West,  enchained  by  their  feudal 
traditions  and  their  caste  prejudices,  are  even  now  in  no  state 
to  accomplish.”  And  again  :  “We  have  to  fight  in  the  name 
of  the  highest  truth  against  egotism  and  the  petty  interests  of 
the  moment.  We  must  prepare  our  children  from  their  ten- 
derest  years  to  take  part  in  the  struggle  that  awaits  every 
honest  man.  We  have  to  thank  the  war  for  opening  our  eyes  to 
the  dark  sides  of  our  political  and  social  organization,  and  it  is 
now  our  duty  to  profit  by  the  lesson.  But  it  must  not  be  sup¬ 
posed  that  the  government  can,  single-handed,  cure  us  of  our 
faults.  The  destinies  of  Russia  are  like  a  stranded  ship,  which 
the  captain  and  the  crew  alone  cannot  move,  and  which  nothing 
but  the  rising  tide  of  the  national  life  can  raise  and  float.”  As 


1856-1877.]  ALEXANDER  II.  AND  THE  REFORMS. 


215 


Mr.  Mackenzie  Wallace  says :  “  Hearts  beat  quicker  at  the  sound 
of  these  calls  to  action.  Many  heard  this  new  teaching,  if  we 
may  believe  a  contemporary  authority,  4  with  tears  in  their 
eyes ;  ’  then  *  raising  boldly  their  heads,  they  made  a  solemn 
vow  that  they  would  act  honorably,  perseveringly,  fearlessly/ 
Some  of  those  who  had  formerly  yielded  to  the  force  of  cir¬ 
cumstances  now  confessed  their  misdemeanors  with  bitterness 
of  heart.  ‘  Tears  of  repentance,’  said  a  popular  poet,  ‘  give 
relief,  and  call  us  to  new  exploits.’  Russia  was  compared  to 
a  strong  giant  who  awakes  from  sleep,  stretches  his  brawny 
limbs,  collects  his  thoughts,  and  prepares  to  atone  for  his  long 
inactivity  by  feats  of  untold  prowess.  All  believed,  or  at  least 
assumed,  that  the  recognition  of  defects  would  necessarily  en¬ 
tail  their  removal.  When  an  actor  in  one  of  the  Saint  Peters¬ 
burg  theatres  shouted  from  the  stage,  ‘  Let  us  proclaim 
throughout  all  Russia  that  the  time  has  come  for  tearing  up 
evil  by  the  roots  !  ’  the  audience  gave  way  to  the  most  frantic 
enthusiasm.  ‘Altogether  a  joyful  time,’  says  one  who  took 
part  in  the  excitement,  ‘  as  when,  after  the  long  winter,  the 
genial  breath  of  spring  glides  over  the  cold,  petrified  earth, 
and  nature  awakens  from  her  death-like  sleep.  Speech,  that 
was  long  restrained  by  police  and  censorial  regulations,  now 
flows  smoothly,  harmoniously,  majestically,  like  a  mighty  river 
that  has  just  been  freed  from  ice.’ 

“  Under  these  influences  a  multitude  of  newspapers  and 
periodicals  were  founded,  and  the  current  literature  entirely 
changed  its  character.  The  purely  literary  and  historical 
questions  which  had  hitherto  engaged  the  attention  of  the 
reading  public  were  thrown  aside  and  forgotten,  unless  they 
could  be  made  to  illustrate  some  principle  of  political  or  social 
science.  Criticisms  on  style  and  diction,  explanations  of  aes¬ 
thetic  principles,  metaphysical  discussions,  —  all  this  seemed 
miserable  trifling  to  men  who  wished  to  devote  themselves  to 
gigantic  practical  interests.  ‘  Science,’  it  was  said,  ‘  has  now 
descended  from  the  heights  of  philosophic  abstraction  into  the 


216 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  IX. 


arena  of  real  life/  The  periodicals  were  accordingly  filled 
with  articles  on  railways,  banks,  free-trade,  education,  agricul¬ 
ture,  communal  institutions,  local  self-government,  joint-stock 
companies,  and  with  crushing  philippics  against  personal  and 
national  vanity,  inordinate  luxury,  administrative  tyranny,  and 
the  habitual  peculation  of  the  officials.  This  last-named  sub¬ 
ject  received  special  attention.  During  the  preceding  reign 
any  attempt  to  criticise  publicly  the  character  or  acts  of  an 
official  was  regarded  as  a  very  heinous  offence ;  now  there  was 
a  deluge  of  sketches,  tales,  comedies,  and  monologues,  describ¬ 
ing  the  corruption  of  the  administration,  and  explaining  the 
ingenious  devices  by  which  the  Tchinomih  increased  their 
scanty  salaries.  The  public  would  read  nothing  that  had  not 
a  direct  or  indirect  bearing  on  the  questions  of  the  day,  and 
whatever  had  such  a  bearing  was  read  with  interest.  It  did 
not  seem  at  all  strange  that  a  drama  should  be  written  in  de¬ 
fence  of  free-trade,  or  a  poem  in  defence  of  some  peculiar 
mode  of  taxation  ;  that  an  author  should  expound  his  political 
ideas  in  a  tale,  and  his  antagonist  reply  by  a  comedy.  A  few 
men  of  the  old  school  protested  feebly  against  this  ‘  prostitu¬ 
tion  of  art/  but  they  received  little  attention,  and  the  doctrine 
that  art  should  be  cultivated  for  its  own  sake  was  scouted  as 
an  invention  of  aristocratic  indolence.  Here  is  an  ipsa  pinxit 
of  the  literature  of  the  time :  ‘  Literature  has  come  to  look  at 
Russia  with  her  own  eyes,  and  sees  that  the  idyllic  romantic 
personages  which  the  poets  formerly  loved  to  describe  have  no 
objective  existence.  Having  taken  off  her  French  glove,  she 
offers  her  hand  to  the  rude,  hard-working  laborer,  and  observ¬ 
ing  lovingly  Russian  village  life,  she  feels  herself  in  her  native 
land.  The  writers  of  the  present  have  analyzed  the  past,  and, 
having  separated  themselves  from  aristocratic  litterateurs  and 
aristocratic  society,  have  demolished  their  former  idols/  ” 

The  delicate  questions  that  the  Russian  press  feared  to 
bring  forward,  and  the  great  personages  that  it  did  not  dare 
to  attack,  were  left  to  the  exiled  Herzen  in  London,  with  his 


1856-1877.]  ALEXANDER  II.  AND  THE  REFORMS. 


217 


terrible  Kolokol,  or  Bell,  the  dread  of  dishonest  officials.  The 
proscribed  numbers  of  the  Kolokol  made  their  way  by  thou¬ 
sands  into  Russia,  were  laid  on  the  table  of  the  Emperor,  and 
revealed  to  him  the  most  secret  iniquities.  Wallace  quotes 
the  following  anecdote,  which  shows  how  thoroughly  Herzen 
was  acquainted  with  what  was  done  in  the  ministries,  and  how 
mercilessly  he  exposed  all  abuses.  One  number  of  the  Kolo¬ 
kol  contained  a  violent  attack  on  an  important  personage  of 
the  court,  and  the  accused,  or  some  one  of  his  friends,  consid¬ 
ered  it  advisable  to  have  a  copy  specially  printed  for  the 
Emperor  without  the  objectionable  article.  The  Emperor  did 
not  at  first  discover  the  trick,  but  shortly  afterwards  he  re¬ 
ceived  from  London  a  polite  note  containing  the  article  which 
had  been  omitted,  and  informing  him  how  he  had  been  de¬ 
ceived. 

In  their  eagerness  for  reform  the  people  wished  everything 
to  be  undertaken  at  once,  but  it  was  soon  seen  that  all  ques¬ 
tions  remained  in  abeyance  till  that  of  the  emancipation  of  the 
peasants  was  settled.  Whether  it  was  a  question  of  self-gov¬ 
ernment,  of  education,  of  industrial  liberty,  of  military  service, 
or  legal  equality,  it  was  sure  to  come  back  to  social  reform, 
which  therefore  must  be  made  the  starting-point. 

The  unfree  population  of  Russia  amounted,  at  the  time  of 
the  emancipation,  to  forty-five  million  eight  hundred  and 
sixty- three  thousand  and  eighty-six  individuals,  divided  into 
twenty-three  million  three  hundred  thousand  Crown  peasants, 
nine  hundred  and  thirty-six  thousand  four  hundred  and 
seventy-seven  peasants  of  appanages,  —  institutions  such  as 
churches,  schools,  hospitals,  mines,  and  factories,  —  twenty 
million  one  hundred  and  fifty-eight  thousand  two  hundred 
and  thirty-one  attached  to  the  soil  and  belonging  to  proprie¬ 
tors,  and  one  million  four  hundred  and  sixty-seven  thousand 
three  hundred  and  seventy-eight  dvorovuie,  or  domestic  ser¬ 
vants.  The  peasants  of  the  Crown  and  of  the  appanages 
might  be  considered  as  freemen,  subject  to  the  payment 


218 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  IX. 


of  a  rent,  or  of  other  well-defined  dues,  settled  by  the  state, 
which  was  represented  either  by  the  administration  of  the 
domain  or  by  the  department  of  the  appanages.  The  Crown 
peasants  even  enjoyed  a  sort  of  local  self-government.  They 
regulated  their  affairs  in  the  commune,  or  mir,  through  an  el¬ 
der  and  an  elected  council.  Their  differences  were  judged  by 
elected  tribunals,  —  the  tribunal  of  the  village  and  the  tribunal 
of  the  volost,  or  district,  which  tried  cases  according  to  the 
peasant  customs.  Nothing  more  was  needed  than  to  give  the 
name  of  freemen  to  men  substantially  free.  This  was  done 
when  their  personal  liberty  was  proclaimed,  and  when  certain 
restrictions  on  their  right  to  come  and  go,  to  acquire  new 
lands,  or  to  dispose  of  their  goods,  were  abolished.  This  was 
accomplished  by  a  series  of  edicts,  the  first  dating  July,  eigh¬ 
teen  hundred  and  fifty-eight. 

The  case  of  peasants  belonging  to  private  owners  and  the 
position  of  the  dvorovicie  was  different.  The  emancipation  of 
twenty-two  million  five  hundred  thousand  men  was  to  bring 
about  the  most  prodigious  social  change  which  has  taken  place 
in  Europe  since  the  French  Revolution.  The  liberation  of  the 
peasants,  properly  so  called,  which  would  make  them  owners 
of  part  of  the  soil  which  they  cultivated,  was  an  enterprise 
surrounded  with  difficulties  on  all  sides.  On  the  question  of 
personal  liberty,  all  were  in  accord,  but  there  were  disagree¬ 
ments  regarding  the  question  of  proprietorship.  To  solve 
this  difficulty  it  was  necessary  to  go  back  to  the  historic  origin 
of  Russian  property,  to  choose  between  the  systems  and  theo¬ 
ries  formulated  by  different  schools  of  historians.  The  most 
authoritative  of  these  proved  that  serfage  was  not  introduced 
into  Russia  by  the  conquest  of  one  race  by  another,  for  it  was 
in  those  very  provinces  conquered  by  the  Russians  —  in  the 
Finnish  or  Tatar  countries  —  that  serfage  did  not  exist,  while 
its  greatest  development  was  to  be  found  in  the  midst  of  the 
conquering  people.  Serfage  had  been  sanctioned  by  a  series 
of  acts  emanating  from  the  throne ;  and  the  nearer  a  province 


1856-1877.]  ALEXANDER  II.  AND  THE  REFORMS. 


219 


was  to  the  Muscovite  centre,  the  more  ancient  and  the  more 
firmly  established  was  serfage  found  to  be.  The  northern 
regions  were  exempt  from  it;  in  the  governments  of  Arkhangel 
and  Vologda  at  the  time  of  the  emancipation  there  were  only 
six  serfs,  and  they  belonged  to  nobles  who  had  no  estates. 
It  seemed,  therefore,  to  be  a  Muscovite  institution,  a  creation 
of  the  Tsarian  power.  It  took  its  rise  in  the  period  when, 
under  the  pressure  of  the  Mongol  yoke,  Russian  society  formed 
itself  into  a  rigorous  hierarchy,  in  which  the  sovereign  of  Mos¬ 
cow  arrogated  to  himself  absolute  authority  over  the  nobles,  as 
the  nobles  did  over  the  peasants,  —  their  subjects.  The  insti¬ 
tution  sprang  from  the  new  wants  of  the  infant  state.  The 
grant  of  lands  to  the  military  class,  to  the  nobles,  was  the 
recompense  for  the  service  exacted  from  them ;  the  revenues 
of  the  soil  constituted  their  pay,  and  were  to  defray  the  ex¬ 
penses  of  their  outfit  and  equipment.  They  were,  besides, 
delegated  to  govern  and  administer  the  lands  of  their  domain, 
and  to  pay  to  the  prince  the  amount  of  the  poll-tax  which  they 
were  charged  to  collect.  But  the  land  had  no  value  without 
the  hands  that  cultivated  it,  the  revenues  of  an  estate  dimin¬ 
ished  as  the  number  of  peasants  diminished ;  the  noble  who 
was  deserted  by  his  peasants  was  ruined,  and  in  no  condition 
to  serve  the  prince.  In  order  that  military  service  might  be 
secured,  and  that  the  produce  of  the  tax  might  suffer  no  dimi¬ 
nution,  it  was  necessary  to  hinder  the  emigration  of  the  peas¬ 
ants.  The  interest  of  the  noble,  as  well  as  the  interest  of  the 
state,  demanded  that  the  liberty  of  coming  and  going  should 
be  restrained,  that  the  noble  should  be  armed  with  a  formida¬ 
ble  authority  over  the  peasant,  and  that  the  laborer  should  be 
fixed  to  the  soil.  Almost  everywhere,  without  any  interven¬ 
tion  on  the  part  of  the  legislature,  the  husbandman  gradually 
became  a  serf.  Legally  free,  the  peasant  had  become  a  slave ; 
in  the  eyes  of  the  law,  a  simple  tenant  for  life,  the  noble  had 
become  in  fact  the  proprietor  of  the  land,  the  owner  of  the 
peasants.  The  state  of  things  created  by  arbitrary  power  was 


220 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  IX, 


afterwards  legalized  by  a  series  of  legislative  acts,  which,  one 
after  the  other,  curtailed  the  liberty  of  the  muzhik  and  in¬ 
creased  the  authority  of  the  lord.  Such  were  the  decrees  of 
Feodor  Ivanovitch  in  fifteen  hundred  and  ninety-two  and  fif¬ 
teen  hundred  and  ninety-seven,  of  Boris  Godunof  in  sixteen 
hundred  and  one,  of  Vasili  Shuiski  in  sixteen  hundred  and 
seven,  of  Peter  the  Great  in  seventeen  hundred  and  twenty- 
three,  and  of  Catherine  the  Second  for  Little  Russia  in  seven¬ 
teen  hundred  and  eighty-three. 

The  peasant,  while  resigning  himself  to  this  condition  of 
affairs,  had  not  entirely  lost  all  sense  of  his  rights.  His  an¬ 
cient  right  to  the  ownership  of  the  land  he  expressed  to  his 
master,  after  his  own  fashion,  in  the  proverb,  “  Mui  vashi  no 
zemlia  nasha,”  that  is  to  say,  “  We  are  yours,  but  the  land  is 
ours.”  He  forgot  less  easily  than  the  government  the  fact 
that  the  peasant’s  obligation  to  serve  the  lord  was  on  the  same 
plane  with  the  lord’s  obligation  to  serve  the  Tsar.  When 
Peter  the  Third  in  his  short  reign  freed  the  nobles  from  the 
obligation  of  serving  the  state,  the  peasant  expected  that  the 
corollary  of  this  first  ukas  would  be  a  second  edict,  setting 
free  the  peasant  from  his  bondage  to  the  soil  and  from  paying 
dues  to  the  lord.  Hence  the  troubles  of  seventeen  hundred 
and  sixty-two,  the  insurrection  of  seventeen  hundred  and  sev¬ 
enty-three,  when  a  false  Peter  the  Third  appeared,  with  the 
intention,  as  it  was  supposed,  of  finishing  the  work  of  the  de¬ 
ceased  Emperor.  During  the  campaign  of  eighteen  hundred 
and  twelve  the  peasants  for  a  moment  believed  that  Napoleon 
was  bringing  them  liberty,  and  the  agitation  was  revived  dur¬ 
ing  the  Crimean  war.  Serfage  was  decidedly  the  weak  point 
of  Russia.  An  invader  might  always  have  the  possibility  of 
supplementing  his  own  offensive  operations  with  a  servile  war. 

We  have  seen  the  efforts  at  emancipation  under  Alexander 
the  First,  and  the  ukas  of  Nicholas  in  eighteen  hundred  and 
forty-two.  The  latter,  by  the  decrees  of  eighteen  hundred 
and  forty-five,  eighteen  hundred  and  forty-seven,  and  eighteen 


1856-1877.]  ALEXANDER  II.  AND  THE  REFORMS. 


221 


hundred  and  forty-eight,  recognized  the  right  of  individuals 
and  communes  to  acquire  landed  property.  Prince  Dolgo- 
ruki,  one  of  Nicholas’s  enemies,  has  not  been  able  to  refuse 
him  this  testimony :  “  However  hostile  he  may  have  been  to 
the  doctrine  of  liberty,  we  must  do  him  the  justice  to  say  that 
he  never  ceased  through  the  whole  of  his  life  to  cherish  the 
idea  of  emancipating  the  serfs.”  In  eighteen  hundred  and 
thirty-eight  he  established  a  committee  under  the  direction  of 
Count  Bludof,  with  instructions  to  investigate  the  emancipa¬ 
tion  question.  The  proceedings  of  this  assembly  were  inter¬ 
rupted  in  consequence  of  the  bad  harvests  of  the  following 
year,  and  in  eighteen  hundred  and  forty  were  entirely  sus¬ 
pended.  He  was  obliged  to  bequeath  this  task  to  his  son. 

A  few  days  after  the  Treaty  of  Paris  was  signed,  in  March, 
eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-six,  Alexander  the  Second,  in  an 
address  to  the  marshals  of  the  Moscow  nobility,  while  guard¬ 
ing  himself  against  the  notion  that  he  aimed  at  the  instant 
emancipation  of  the  serfs,  invited  “  his  faithful  nobles  ”  to 
seek  the  proper  means  to  prepare  for  the  execution  of  this 
measure.  These  were  his  words  :  “  Por  the  removal  of  certain 
unfounded  reports,  I  consider  it  necessary  to  declare  to  you 
that  I  have  not  at  present  the  intention  of  annihilating  serf¬ 
age  ;  but  certainly,  as  you  yourselves  know,  the  existing  man¬ 
ner  of  possessing  serfs  cannot  remain  unchanged.  It  is  better 
to  abolish  serfage  from  above  than  to  await  the  time  when  it 
will  begin  to  abolish  itself  from  below.  I  request  you,  gentle¬ 
men,  to  consider  how  this  can  be  put  into  execution,  and  to 
submit  my  words  to  the  noblesse  for  their  consideration.” 
The  Muscovite  proprietors  showed,  however,  but  little  enthu¬ 
siasm,  and  the  Emperor  was  disappointed,  for  he  had  hoped 
that  his  ancient  capital  would  be  the  first  to  begin  the  great 
work.  He  now  saw  clearly  that  such  a  measure  could  be  car¬ 
ried  out  only  by  an  energetic  exercise  of  the  imperial  power, 
and  he  appointed,  on  the  fourteenth  of  January,  eighteen  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifty-seven,  a  secret  committee  composed  of  high 


222 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  IX. 


states-officials.  This  “  chief  committee  for  peasant  affairs,”  or 
“  chief  committee  for  the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the 
serfs,”  as  it  was  afterwards  called,  spent  half  a  year  in  study¬ 
ing  the  history  of  the  question.  This  same  year  the  nobles  of 
the  governments  of  Kief,  Volhynia,  and  Podolia,  dissatisfied  by 
the  result  of  the  measures  taken  by  Nicholas  the  Pirst  in  the 
institution  of  the  “  inventories,”  which  regulated  the  mutual 
obligations  of  masters  and  serfs,  “  took,”  says  Schnitzler, 
“  a  desperate  resolution.  They  declared  themselves  ready  to 
emancipate  the  peasants,  either  because  they  thought  that  the 
bare  idea  of  so  radical  a  measure  would  alarm  the  government, 
or  because  they  hoped  that  the  emancipation  would  necessarily 
be  based  on  the  idea  of  a  proportionate  pecuniary  indemnity.” 
Whether  their  expressed  desire  for  a  revision  of  the  invento¬ 
ries  warranted  such  a  violent  assumption  or  not,  it  furnished 
the  Emperor  with  the  occasion  he  sought  to  give  the  question 
a  decisive  impulse.  By  an  imperial  rescript  he  authorized  the 
nobility  of  the  three  Lithuanian  governments  to  proceed  with 
the  work  of  emancipation,  although  the  word  itself  was  care¬ 
fully  avoided.  In  the  supplementary  considerations,  however, 
it  was  stated  that  “  the  abolition  of  serfage  must  be  effected 
not  suddenly,  but  gradually.”  He  sent  this  edict  —  known 
as  the  Rescript  of  Nazimof — and  the  ministerial  instructions 
which  formed  its  commentary,  to  all  the  governors  and  all  the 
marshals  of  the  nobility  throughout  the  provinces  of  the  Em¬ 
pire,  “  for  their  information,”  and  also,  adds  the  circular,  “  for 
your  direction,  in  case  that  the  nobles  of  the  government,  con¬ 
fided  to  your  care,  should  express  the  same  intention  as  the 
three  Lithuanian  governments.”  The  nobles  of  St.  Peters¬ 
burg,  Nijni-Novgorod,  and  Orel  made  a  reply  which  encour¬ 
aged  the  Emperor  :  they  begged  permission  to  call  a  committee 
for  deliberation.  During  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty- 
eight  thirty-three  districts  declared  their  wish  to  discuss  the 
matter,  but  only  nineteen  established  their  committees. 

Another  encouragement  came  to  him  from  the  press,  almost 


1856-1877.]  ALEXANDER  II.  AND  THE  REFORMS. 


223 


the  whole  of  which  hailed  with  enthusiasm  a  measure  “  which 
was  to  open  a  new  and  glorious  epoch  in  the  national  history.” 
“  All  sections  of  the  literary  world,”  says  Mr.  Mackenzie  Wal¬ 
lace,  “  had  arguments  to  offer  in  support  of  the  foregone  con¬ 
clusion.  The  moralists  declared  that  all  prevailing  vices  were 
the  product  of  serfage,  and  that  moral  progress  was  impossible 
in  an  atmosphere  of  slavery ;  the  lawyers  asserted  that  the 
arbitrary  authority  of  the  proprietors  over  the  peasants  had  no 
firm  legal  basis ;  the  economists  explained  that  free  labor  was 
an  indispensable  condition  of  industrial  and  commercial  pros¬ 
perity;  the  philosophical  historians  showed  that  the  normal 
historical  development  of  the  country  demanded  the  abolition 
of  barbarism ;  and  the  writers  of  the  sentimental,  gushing 
type  poured  forth  endless  effusions  about  brotherly  love  to  the 
weak  and  oppressed.” 

Already  the  question  was  not  one  of  giving  the  peasant  his 
liberty  alone.  In  order  to  prevent  the  peasant,  now  free,  but 
detached  from  the  soil,  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  his 
ancient  master,  and  into  a  state  of  dependence  more  insupport¬ 
able  than  that  of  the  past ;  to  hinder  the  formation  of  an  im¬ 
mense  proletariat,  more  hungry  and  more  dangerous  than  that 
which,  it  was  said,  threatened  the  kingdoms  of  the  West,  —  it 
was  necessary  to  give  the  newly  liberated  classes  some  property, 
to  reconstitute  and  strengthen  the  Russian  commune,  whose 
strong  unity  and  indestructible  life  formed  the  best  rampart 
against  pauperism.  Many  proprietors  associated  themselves 
with  this  movement;  they  trusted  that  the  abolition  of  the 
serfage  of  the  peasants  would  have  as  its  consequence  the  limita¬ 
tion  of  the  autocratic  authority  of  the  Tsars,  and  that  by  enfran¬ 
chising  their  serfs  they  would  themselves  gain  political  liberty. 
More  than  once  it  was  proposed  to  re-establish  the  ancient 
council  called  duma ,  or  sobor,  as  a  kind  of  national  parliament 
which  under  more  modern  forms  would  allow  the  country  to 
become  associated  in  the  exercise  of  the  supreme  authority. 

The  government,  supported  by  the  addresses  of  many  bodies 


224 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  IX. 


of  the  noblesse,  ordered  the  creation  of  committees  of  land- 
owners,  charged  to  examine  the  question.  Forty-six  of  these 
committees,  composed  of  thirteen  hundred  and  thirty-six  land- 
owners,  assembled  to  discuss  the  rights  of  twenty-three  millions 
of  serfs  and  of  one  hundred  and  fourteen  thousand  six  hundred 
and  ninety-seven  proprietors.  The  forty-six  committees  unani¬ 
mously  pronounced  for  the  abolition  of  serfage  without  any 
recompense,  but  opinions  were  divided  as  to  the  distribution 
of  lands  and  the  conditions  of  indemnity.  The  Emperor  had 
again  to  interfere.  In  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-nine  he 
called  a  chief  committee,  composed  of  twelve  persons,  over 
which  he  presided  during  its  first  sessions.  He  afterwards 
resigned  the  presidency  to  Prince  Alexis  Orlof.  This  com¬ 
mittee,  in  conjunction  with  some  of  the  provincial  committees, 
more  than  once  opposed  passive  resistance  to  the  beneficent 
schemes  of  the  sovereign.  The  Emperor  went  through  the 
provinces,  appealing  to  the  conciliatory  spirit  and  devotion  of 
his  nobility,  reprimanding  those  who  hung  back,  and  remind¬ 
ing  them  that  “reforms  came  better  from  above  than  from 
below.”  To  subdue  the  resistance  of  the  superior  committee 
he  created  another,  to  which  the  old  one  was  subordinated, 
and  which  he  packed  with  men  devoted  to  the  new  idea. 

The  new  “  imperial  commission  ”  did  not  content  itself 
with  elaborating  the  materials  furnished  by  the  provincial 
committees.  Directly  inspired  by  the  Emperor,  who  sent  them 
his  paper  on  “  the  progress  and  issue  of  the  peasant  question,” 
they  took  into  their  own  hands  all  the  points  of  legislation,  by 
which  course  they  ran  the  risk  of  throwing  into  opposition 
many  proprietors  who  were  well  disposed,  but  who  complained 
that  they  had  never  been  consulted,  and  that  the  commission 
seemed  desirous  of  depriving  them  of  the  merit  of  their  sacri¬ 
fices.  The  commission  gradually  gave  to  the  reform  a  more 
and  more  radical  character.  It  admitted  the  principle  that 
the  emancipation  should  not  take  place  gradually,  but  that  the 
law  should  insure  the  immediate  abolition  of  serfdom ;  that 


1856-1877.]  ALEXANDER  II.  AND  THE  REFORMS. 


225 


the  most  effectual  measures  should  be  taken  to  prevent  the  re¬ 
establishment  of  the  seigniorial  authority  under  other  forms,  by 
a  liberal  organization  of  the  rural  communes ;  and  that  the 
peasant  should  become  a  proprietor  on  the  payment  of  an 
indemnity.  From  these  deliberations  resulted  the  new  law, 
announced  by  the  manifesto  of  the  nineteenth  of  February,  or 
third  of  March,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-one,  according  to 
the  New  Style. 

The  fundamental  principles  of  the  new  legislation  may  be 
summed  up  thus :  The  peasants  hitherto  attached  to  the 
soil  were  to  be  invested  with  all  the  rights  of  free  cultivators. 
The  peasants,  in  consideration  of  certain  quit-rents  fixed  by 
law,  should  obtain  the  full  enjoyment  of  their  enclosure  or  dvor y 
and  also  a  certain  quantity  of  arable  land,  sufficient  to  make 
certain  the  accomplishment  of  their  obligations  towards  the 
state.  It  was  provided  that  this  “  permanent  enjoyment,”  or 
usufruct,  might  be  exchanged  for  an  “  absolute  ownership  ”  of 
the  enclosure  and  the  lands,  on  the  payment  of  purchase- 
money.  The  lords  were  to  grant  the  peasants  or  the  rural 
communes  the  land  actually  occupied  by  the  latter ;  in  each 
district,  however,  a  maximum  and  a  minimum  were  to  be 
fixed.  On  the  whole,  there  was  an  average  of  three  desiatins 
and  a  half,  or  more  than  nine  English  acres,  for  each  male 
peasant ;  but  it  varied  from  one  desiatin  to  twelve ;  that  is  to 
say,  the  peasants  in  general  received  less  in  the  Black  Land, 
and  more  in  the  less  productive  zones.  The  government  was 
to  organize  a  system  of  loans,  which  would  permit  the  peas¬ 
ants  immediately  to  liberate  themselves  from  their  lords, 
though  they  would  remain  debtors  to  the  state.  The  dvoro- 
vuie,  who  were  neither  attached  to  the  soil,  nor  members  of 
the  commune,  were  to  receive  only  their  personal  liberty,  after 
they  had  served  their  masters  for  two  years.  To  bring  the 
great  work  of  partition  into  seigniorial  and  peasant  lands 
to  a  happy  conclusion,  to  regulate  the  amount  of  the  dues, 
the  conditions  of  repurchase,  and  all  the  questions  which 

TOL.  Ill,  15 


226 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  IX. 


might  arise  from  the  execution  of  the  law,  the  temporary 
magistracy  of  the  mirovuie  posrednild ,  or  mediators  of  peace, 
was  instituted,  who  showed  themselves  for  the  most  part  hon¬ 
est,  patient,  impartial,  equitable,  and  who  deserve  a  great  part 
of  the  honor  of  this  pacific  settlement. 

The  peasants,  freed  from  the  authority  of  their  former  mas¬ 
ters,  were  organized  into  communes ;  or,  rather,  the  commune, 
the  mir,  which  is  the  primordial  and  antique  element  of  Slavo- 
Russian  society,  acquired  a  new  force.  It  inherited  the  right 
of  police  and  of  surveillance,  held  by  the  lord  over  his  sub¬ 
jects;  it  administered  and  judged  with  more  liberty  the  suits 
of  the  peasants.  In  accordance  with  the  ancient  Slav  law,  the 
land  bought  from  the  lord  remained  the  common  property  of 
all  the  members  of  the  mir :  each  peasant  held  as  his  private 
property  only  his  enclosure  and  the  land  thereto  pertaining. 
Arable  lands  are  subject,  at  more  or  less  frequent  intervals,  to 
partition  among  the  heads  of  families,  and  are  possessed  by 
them  only  by  way  of  usufruct.  The  law,  which  does  not  per¬ 
mit  a  final  partition  of  the  common  land,  except  when  two 
thirds  of  those  interested  consent,  will  long  maintain  against 
the  destructive  action  of  new  manners  and  new  wants  this  old 
European  institution,  which  in  Western  countries  has  dis¬ 
appeared  for  centuries,  in  Erance  especially,  and  has  left  no 
trace,  other  than  in  so-called  communal  properties.  The  com¬ 
munes,  freed  from  the  control  of  the  lords,  were  grouped,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  imperial  domains,  into  volosti ,  or  districts  hav¬ 
ing  from  three  hundred  to  two  thousand  male  members ;  a 
volost  tribunal  received  the  appeal  from  the  communal  justices, 
and  a  volost  municipality  was  charged  to  watch  over  the  com¬ 
mon  interests  of  all  the  villages  under  its  jurisdiction.  The 
mayor  of  the  commune  was  called  stdrosta  ;  the  head  of  the 
volost  was  called  stars/mid,  and  was  made  responsible  for  the 
peace  and  order  of  the  community.  The  Russian  peasants  were 
thus  given  a  complete  system  of  local  self-government,  of  an 
absolutely  rural  character,  for  the  former  lord  was  strenuously 


1856-1877.]  ALEXANDER  II.  AND  THE  REFORMS. 


227 


kept  apart  from  it.  Since  his  ancient  domain  had  been 
divided  into  seigniorial  and  peasant  lands,  he  ceased  legally 
to  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  village.  His  interests  being  per¬ 
fectly  distinct  from  those  of  the  peasants,  he  was  forbidden  to 
meddle  either  with  them,  their  elections,  their  administration, 
or  their  justice. 

The  great  emancipation  measure  was,  in  fact,  a  dissolution 
of  partnership  between  masters  and  peasants.  It  imposed 
sacrifices  on  both  the  interested  parties.  If  the  proprietors 
were  forced  to  renounce  their  seigniorial  rights,  the  obrok ,  or 
money-dues,  the  statute-labor,  and  part  of  their  lands  in 
exchange  for  an  indemnity,  the  peasant  found  it  hard  to  be 
obliged  to  buy  the  very  ground  whereon  his  cottage  stood ; 
the  soil  which  his  ancestors  had  cultivated  in  the  sweat  of 
their  faces,  even  the  land  reserved  for  the  lord,  they  regarded 
in  many  places  as  their  own  property,  because  it  had  been 
cultivated  by  them  from  time  immemorial.  The  division  im¬ 
posed  by  the  law  seemed  to  them  a  system  of  spoliation.  The 
discontent  often  showed  itself  in  an  obstinate  resistance  to  the 
advice  of  the  “  mediators  of  peace,”  by  their  refusal  to  acquit 
themselves  of  legal  obligations,  and  to  enter  into  negotiation 
with  the  lord  for  the  purchase  of  the  land.  They  persuaded 
themselves  that  the  nobles  and  officials  had  falsified  the  edict 
of  the  Tsar,  or  that  a  fresh  act  of  emancipation,  the  true  one, 
was  to  be  proclaimed.  A  strange  ferment  arose  in  many 
provinces ;  it  was  necessary  to  call  out  the  soldiery,  and  three 
times  the  troops  had  to  fire  on  the  people.  In  the  gov¬ 
ernment  of  Kazan  ten  thousand  men  rose  at  the  call  of  the 
peasant,  Anton  Petrof,  who  announced  to  them  that  the  Eman¬ 
cipation  Law  was  a  forgery,  and  proclaimed  the  true  liberty. 
General  Apraxin  was  sent  out  against  him,  and  was  obliged 
to  have  recourse  to  powder  and  ball.  A  hundred  perished, 
and  the  chief  himself  was  taken  and  shot.  The  emancipation 
was  none  the  less  a  beneficent  and  essential  reform,  of  which 
the  present  generation  will  have  to  pay  the  price,  while  its 


228 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  IX. 


good  results  will  develop  in  future  generations.  The  Russian 
peasants  owe  their  liberty  above  all  to  the  firm  will  of  the 
Emperor ;  to  the  generous  efforts  of  the  Grand  Duke  Kon¬ 
stantin,  and  of  a  German  princess,  the  widow  of  the  Grand 
Duke  Mikhail  Pavlovitch,  the  Grand  Duchess  Helena,  who  in 
eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-nine  gave  an  example  by  emanci¬ 
pating  her  own  peasants ;  to  the  enlightened  patriotism  of 
General  Rostovtsof,  who  died  before  the  law  was  promulgated, 
of  Panin,  Minister  of  Justice,  of  Nikolai  Miliutin,  of  Prince 
Tcherkasski,  of  Iuri  Samarin,  all  members  of  the  Imperial 
Commission,  of  Koshelef,  Solovief,  Zhukovski,  Domotuvitch, 
and  others ;  and  to  a  large  number  of  the  proprietors,  many 
of  whom  granted  their  peasants  more  than  the  maximum  of 
land  fixed  by  law. 

As  a  reward  for  their  sacrifices,  the  upper  classes  in  Russia 
demanded  reforms  and  more  political  liberty.  In  the  two 
principal  cities,  Moscow  and  Saint  Petersburg,  strenuous 
efforts  were  made  to  obtain  this  influence  and  position.  Some 
of  the  more  radical  newspapers  demanded  the  abolition  of  the 
nobility,  but  this  extremism  found  little  general  support.  The 
discontented  nobles,  headed  by  Nikolai  Besobrasof,  felt  that 
the  sacrifices  which  they  had  been  compelled  to  undergo 
deserved  a  recompense  in  the  extension  of  their  political 
rights.  A  constitutional  assembly  with  representation  of  all 
classes,  and  a  house  of  nobles,  were  desired  by  both  aristocrats 
and  liberals.  Prince  Shtcherbatof  in  Moscow  proposed  to 
send  an  address  to  the  government  asking  for  a  general  com¬ 
mission  of  inquiry  into  the  needs  and  wishes  of  the  country, 
and  the  meeting  passed  the  motion  by  a  large  majority.  The 
discussions,  however,  became  so  angry  and  excited  that  the 
police  were  obliged  to  interfere.  In  Smolensk,  Prince  Gurko 
made  a  motion  to  abolish  all  the  rights  of  the  nobles  and  to 
demand  a  constitution.  Here  again  the  police  interfered  in 
the  most  summary  manner.  In  Tula  and  Tver  similar  radical 
measures  were  discussed.  At  the  latter  town  thirteen  justices 


1856-  1877.]  ALEXANDER  11.  AND  THE  REFORMS.  229 

of  the  peace  refused  to  abide  by  the  decree  of  emancipation, 
and  announced  their  intention  of  acting  according  to  their 
own  judgment.  The  government  felt  obliged  to  interfere : 
the  decrees  of  the  assembly  were  declared  to  be  of  no  effect, 
and  the  rebellious  justices  were  put  in  prison  and  released, 
after  a  fortnight’s  detention,  only  because  the  Emperor  felt 
that  extreme  measures  were  dangerous.  The  address  of  the 
Moscow  nobles  was  answered  with  a  reprimand ;  that  of  the 
Tula  nobles  was  unnoticed.  But  if  the  nobles  were  refused 
the  re-establishment  of  the  duma ,  that  is  to  say,  constitutional 
government,  at  least  great  reforms  were  accomplished  in  legal 
matters  and  in  provincial  administration. 

In  judicial  affairs,  the  edicts  from  eighteen  hundred  and 
sixty-two  to  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-five  introduced  inno¬ 
vations  sanctioned  by  the  experience  of  Western  states  in 
former  times.  “  Explicit,  minute  rules  were  laid  down  for 
investigating  facts  and  weighing  evidence ;  every  scrap  of  evi¬ 
dence  and  every  legal  ground  on  which  the  decision  was  based 
was  committed  to  writing ;  every  act  in  the  complicated  pro¬ 
cess  of  coming  to  a  decision  was  made  the  subject  of  a  formal 
document,  and  duly  entered  in  various  registers ;  every  docu¬ 
ment  and  register  had  to  be  signed  and  countersigned  by 
various  officials  who  were  supposed  to  control  each  other; 
every  decision  might  be  carried  to  a  higher  court  and  made 
to  pass  a  second  time  through  the  bureaucratic  machine.” 
Public  accusation  and  defence  now  succeeded  to  this  written 
and  inquisitorial  procedure.  The  trial  of  crimes  and  misde¬ 
meanors  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  jury.  “  In  studying  the 
history  of  criminal  procedure  in  foreign  countries,  those  who 
were  intrusted  with  the  task  of  preparing  projects  of  reform 
found  that  nearly  every  country  of  Europe  had  experienced  the 
evils  from  which  Russia  was  suffering,  and  that  one  country 
after  another  had  come  to  the  conviction  that  the  most  effi¬ 
cient  means  of  removing  these  evils  was  to  replace  the  inquisi¬ 
torial  by  litigious  procedure,  to  give  a  fair  field  and  no  favor 


230 


HISTORY  OP  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  IX. 


to  the  prosecutor  and  the  accused,  and  allow  them  to  fight  out 
their  battle  with  whatever  legal  weapons  they  might  think  fit. 
Further  it  was  discovered  that,  according  to  the  most  competent 
foreign  authorities,  it  was  well  in  this  modern  form  of  judicial 
combat  to  leave  the  decision  to  a  jury  of  respectable  citizens. 
The  steps  which  Russia  had  to  take  were  thus  clearly  marked 
out  by  the  experience  of  other  nations,  and  it  was  decided  that 
they  should  be  taken  at  once.  The  organs  for  the  prosecution 
of  supposed  criminals  were  carefully  separated  from  the  judges 
on  the  one  hand,  and  from  the  police  on  the  other;  oral  dis¬ 
cussions  between  the  public  prosecutor  and  the  prisoner's 
counsel,  together  with  oral  examination  and  cross-questioning 
of  witnesses,  were  introduced  into  the  procedure ;  and  the  jury 
was  made  an  essential  factor  in  criminal  trials."  In  eighteen 
hundred  and  sixty  the  duty  of  making  criminal  inquiries  was 
taken  from  the  police  and  given  to  special  magistrates,  called 
sudcbnuic  sledovateli ,  or  juges  d'  instruction,  who  were  nearly 
independent  of  the  public  prosecutor;  and  district  courts 
were  established,  having  jurisdiction  over  a  group  of  several 
districts.  Appeals  were  carried  up  to  sudebnuia  palatui,  or 
“  palaces  of  justice,"  similar  to  the  French  courts  of  appeal, 
but  which  reversed  the  sentences  of  the  first  judges  only 
in  cases  where  the  law  was  misinterpreted  or  misapplied. 
“  When  a  case,  whether  civil  or  criminal,  has  been  de¬ 
cided  in  the  justice  of  peace  courts  or  in  the  regular  tribu¬ 
nals,  there  is  no  possibility  of  appeal  in  the  strict  sense  of 
the  term,  but  an  application  may  be  made  for  a  revision  of 
the  case  on  the  ground  of  technical  informality.  To  use  the 
French  terms,  there  cannot  be  appel ,  but  there  may  be  cassa¬ 
tion.  If  the  law  has  evidently  been  misinterpreted  or  mis¬ 
applied,  if  there  has  been  any  omission  or  transgression  of 
essential  legal  formalities,  or  if  the  court  has  overstepped  the 
bounds  of  its  legal  authority,  the  injured  party  may  make  an 
application  to  have  the  case  revised  and  tried  again.  This 
is  not,  according  to  French  juridical  conceptions,  an  appeal. 


1856  -1877.]  ALEXANDER  II.  AND  THE  REFORMS. 


231 


The  court  of  revision  ( Com  de  Cassation )  does  not  enter  into 
the  material  facts  of  the  case,  but  merely  decides  the  question 
as  to  whether  the  essential  formalities  have  been  duly  observed, 
and  as  to  whether  the  law  has  been  properly  interpreted  and 
applied ;  and  if  it  be  found  on  examination  that  there  is  some 
ground  for  invalidating  the  decision,  it  does  not  decide  the  case, 
but  merely  hands  it  over  to  be  tried  anew.  According  to  the 
new  Russian  system,  the  senate  is  the  sole  court  of  revision, 
alike  for  the  justice  of  peace  courts  and  for  the  regular  tri¬ 
bunals. ”  The  senate  thus  crowns  all  this  organization,  in 
which  we  find  certain  wholly  French  ideas. 

The  justices  of  the  peace  constitute  a  separate  hierarchy:  the 
mirovoi  sudia ,  or  judge,  elected  by  the  landed  proprietors  of 
the  district,  forms  the  head  of  a  tribunal  of  arbitration  and  of 
ordinary  police;  the  jurisdiction  of  the  justice  of  peace  courts 
is  much  more  extensive  than  in  France,  and  includes  the  civil 
cases  not  exceeding  five  hundred  rubles,  or  about  three  hun¬ 
dred  dollars,  and  criminal  cases  where  the  penalty  does  not 
exceed  three  hundred  rubles,  or  more  than  a  year’s  imprison¬ 
ment.  “  When  any  one  has  a  complaint  to  make,  he  may  go 
to  the  justice  of  the  peace,  and  explain  the  affair  orally,  or  in 
writing,  without  observing  any  formalities ;  and  if  the  com¬ 
plaint  seems  well  founded,  the  justice  at  once  fixes  a  day  for 
hearing  the  case,  and  gives  the  other  party  notice  to  appear  at 
the  appointed  time.  When  the  time  appointed  arrives,  the 
affair  is  discussed  publicly  and  orally,  either  by  the  parties 
themselves,  or  by  any  representatives  whom  they  may  appoint. 
If  it  is  a  civil  suit,  the  justice  begins  by  proposing  to  the  par¬ 
ties  to  terminate  it  at  once  by  a  compromise,  and  indicates 
what  he  considers  a  fair  arrangement.  Many  affairs  are  ter¬ 
minated  in  this  simple  way.  If,  however,  either  of  the  parties 
refuses  to  consent  to  a  compromise,  the  matter  is  fully  dis¬ 
cussed,  and  the  justice  gives  a  formal  written  decision,  con¬ 
taining  the  grounds  on  which  it  is  based.  In  criminal  cases 
the  amount  of  punishment  is  always  determined  by  reference 


232 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  IX. 


to  a  special  criminal  code.”  The  sentence  can  be  appealed 
from  only  when  the  sum  involved  exceeds  thirty  rubles  in  civil, 
and  fifteen  rubles  or  three  days’  imprisonment  in  criminal 
cases.  In  this  case  the  appeal  is  taken,  not  as  in  Prance  before 
the  district  tribunal,  but  before  the  mirovoi  siezd ,  or  assembly 
of  justices  of  the  peace  for  the  district,  whose  verdict  can  be 
annulled  only  by  the  senate. 

The  Russian  provinces,  or  gubernii ,  are  divided  into  uiezdui , 
or  districts.  In  each  district  the  law  of  eighteen  hundred  and 
sixty-four  institutes  a  district  council,  the  uiezdnoe  zemstvo , 
formed  by  deputies  elected  every  three  years,  in  certain  fixed 
proportions,  by  the  three  orders  of  the  state,  —  the  landed 
proprietors,  or  gentlemen,  the  rural  communes,  and  the  towns. 
The  council  assembles  at  least  once  a  year,  and  is  replaced  in 
the  interval  between  its  sessions  by  a  permanent  executive  com¬ 
mittee.  The  functions  of  the  district  council,  which  occupies 
in  the  administrative  hierarchy  the  rank  immediately  superior 
to  the  municipal  councils  of  the  towns  and  to  the  councils  of 
the  rural  volosti ,  consist  in  the  care  and  repair  of  the  roads 
and  bridges,  the  watching  over  education  and  sanitary  affairs, 
the  inspection  of  the  state  of  the  harvest,  and  the  power  to 
take  measures  for  the  prevention  of  famine.  Above  the  dis¬ 
trict  council  was  instituted  the  general  council,  the  gubernskoe 
zemstvo ,  elected,  not  by  the  primary  electors,  but  by  the  district 
councils  of  the  province;  in  these  there  was  to  be  found,  as  a 
general  thing,  a  larger  proportion  of  noble  deputies  than  in  the 
other  assembly,  in  consequence  of  the  tendency  of  the  peasants 
to  avoid  all  public  charges.  The  general  council  occupies 
itself  with  affairs  concerning  several  districts,  and  votes  the 
provincial  budget.  Such  is  a  summary  of  the  system  of  self- 
government  with  which  the  present  reign  has  endowed  Russia. 

Corporal  punishments,  that  blot  on  ancient  Russia,  were 
abolished  in  the  army  and  the  imperial  tribunals.  They  re¬ 
main  in  vigor  only  in  the  tribunals  of  the  peasants,  who, 
from  their  attachment  to  the  ancient  patriarchal  customs, 


1866-1877.]  ALEXANDER  II.  AND  THE  REFORMS. 


233 


still  apply  some  blows  with  a  whip  to  delinquents.  The 
censorship  was  mitigated ;  the  newspapers  of  both  capitals 
received  the  right  to  choose  between  submitting  to  the  exami¬ 
nation  of  the  censors  and  the  liberty  of  appearing  at  their  own 
risk  and  peril.  In  this  case  an  arrangement  borrowed  from 
the  second  French  empire  is  applied, — after  three  warnings,  the 
paper  may  be  suspended  or  suppressed.  The  periodical  press 
of  Saint  Petersburg  and  Moscow  has  developed  in  a  surpris¬ 
ing  manner  in  an  atmosphere  of  comparative  liberty ;  on  the 
other  hand,  the  provincial  press,  even  in  the  largest  towns, 
such  as  Kief  and  Kazan,  scarcely  exists.  That  of  Warsaw  is 
in  an  exceptional  situation ;  that  of  the  Baltic  provinces  enjoys 
a  greater  freedom. 

Since  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-nine  the  table  of  receipts 
and  that  of  the  state  expenses  have  been  given  a  kind  of  pub¬ 
licity.  The  estimates  of  revenue  are  divided  into  three  heads : 
ordinary  receipts,  including  direct  and  indirect  taxes ;  recettes 
d'ordre ,  or  receipts  from  the  sale  of  law  reports  published  at 
government  expense,  the  produce  of  the  state  mines,  and  the 
like ;  and  extraordinary  receipts,  such  as  sums  borrowed  in  the 
European  money  markets.  The  expenditures  are  subdivided 
into  four  heads :  ordinary  expenses,  anticipated  deficits, 
defenses  d'ordre ,  and  temporary  disbursements  for  the  aid  of 
railroads,  and  other  enterprises.  The  Trans-Caucasus,  Fin¬ 
land,  and  Turkestan  are  usually  sources  of  far  greater  ex¬ 
penditure  than  income.  If  there  is  ever  a  surplus,  it  comes 
from  Central  or  Southern  Russia.  In  eighteen  hundred 
and  seventy-eight  the  receipts  were  six  hundred  million 
three  hundred  and  ninety-eight  thousand  four  hundred  and 
twenty-five  rubles,  of  which  nearly  forty  millions  were  bor¬ 
rowed.  The  following  year  the  ordinary  revenue  was  five 
hundred  and  ninety-five  million  four  hundred  and  sixty- 
one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  twenty-four  rubles,  and  the 
ordinary  expenditure  five  hundred  and  ninety-three  million 
seventy-nine  thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy-three  rubles. 


234 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  IX. 


Nine  million  three  hundred  and  sixty-seven  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  sixty-six  rubles  were  borrowed  for  the  purpose 
of  continuing  the  railroad  system.  On  the  first  of  September, 
eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-eight,  the  interest  on  the  public 
debt  was  one  hundred  and  thirty -three  million  six  hundred 
and  seventy-six  thousand  seven  hundred  and  nineteen  rubles, 
which  had  increased  in  the  following  year  to  one  hundred  and 
fifty-six  million  five  hundred  and  seventy-seven  thousand  five 
hundred  and  twenty-six  rubles.  The  total  debt  in  eighteen 
hundred  and  seventy-eight  was  two  thousand  four  hundred  and 
fifty  million  rubles,  not  including  the  paper  currency,  which  in 
eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-nine  was  eleven  hundred  and 
thirty-four  millions  of  rubles.  In  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty 
foreigners  acquired  all  the  civil  rights  accorded  to  natives,  and 
which  are  held  by  Russians  in  foreign  countries.  The  bar¬ 
riers  raised  by  Nicholas  between  his  empire  and  Europe  have 
been  partially  overthrown.  The  Jews  —  at  least  those  exercis¬ 
ing  a  trade — were  authorized  to  remove  from  Poland  and  the 
western  governments  into  the  interior  of  the  empire.  The 
universities  have  been  freed  from  the  shackles  imposed  by  Nich¬ 
olas,  the  limitation  of  the  number  of  students  abolished,  the 
charges  of  study  lowered,  and  numerous  scholarships  created. 

THE  POLISH  INSURRECTION. 

Great  hopes  awakened  in  Poland  at  the  accession  of  the  new 
sovereign  ;  they  went  as  far  as  the  re-establishment  of  the  con¬ 
stitution,  and  even  to  the  reunion  of  the  Lithuanian  provinces 
with  the  kingdom.  The  awakening  of  Italy  had  made  that 
of  Poland  appear  possible  ;  the  concessions  of  the  Emperor  of 
Austria  to  Plungary  led  men  to  expect  the  same  from  Alex¬ 
ander  the  Second.  On  the  death  of  Prince  Paskievitch,  in 
eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-six,  General  Mikhail  Gortchakof 
was  appointed  vice-regent  of  Poland,  and  the  system  of  admin¬ 
istration  was  changed  for  a  simpler  and  milder  form.  The  in- 


1856-1877.]  ALEXANDER  II.  AND  THE  REFORMS. 


235 


terview  of  the  three  Northern  sovereigns  at  Warsaw,  in  October, 
eighteen  hundred  and  sixty,  caused  a  certain  irritation  among 
the  people.  It  is  necessary  also  to  take  into  consideration  the 
intrigues  set  on  foot  by  the  Polish  committees  abroad.  If  many 
Poles  counted  on  the  support  of  Alexander  the  Second  to  help 
them  to  raise  their  country,  others  wished  for  complete  emanci¬ 
pation  from  Russia.  There  existed,  therefore,  two  parties  in 
Warsaw  and  in  the  foreign  committees  ;  the  one  wished  to  take 
Italy  as  an  example,  the  other  would  be  content  with  the  new  lot 
of  Hungary.  The  emancipation  of  the  peasants  was  in  Poland, 
as  in  Russia,  the  question  of  the  day;  but  the  conditions  of  the 
problem  were  different  in  Warsaw  from  what  they  were  in 
Moscow.  The  personal  liberty  of  the  rustics  had  been  decreed 
by  Napoleon  the  First,  at  the  time  that  the  Grand  Duchy  was 
created ;  but  as  they  had  received  no  property,  they  continued 
to  farm  the  lands  of  the  nobles,  and  paid  their  rent  either  in 
money  or  by  statute  labor.  The  substitution  of  a  quitrent  in 
money  instead  of  labor  was  the  first  step  in  the  path  of  reform, 
which  might  be  carried  further  by  allowing  the  husbandman 
to  become  a  proprietor,  by  paying  annually  a  fixed  sum 
towards  the  purchase  of  the  land,  and  putting  means  of  credit 
at  his  disposal.  The  Agricultural  Society,  consisting  of  more 
than  five  thousand  members,  and  presided  over  by  Count  An¬ 
drei  Zamoiski,  found  that  it  was  for  the  interest  of  the  Polish 
nation  to  anticipate  the  Russian  government,  and  to  secure  to 
the  native  nobility  the  honor  of  emancipation  ;  the  govern¬ 
ment,  on  the  contrary,  represented  by  Mr.  Mukhanof,  Director 
of  the  Interior,  decided  that  it  was  to  its  advantage  to  fetter 
the  activity  of  the  society,  to  forbid  the  discussion  of  the  ques¬ 
tion  of  purchase,  and  to  confine  its  functions  to  the  mutation 
of  statute  labor  into  fixed  dues. 

This  disagreement  between  the  Agricultural  Society  and  the 
government  increased  the  agitation  which  already  existed  at 
Warsaw.  On  the  twenty-ninth  of  November,  eighteen  hun¬ 
dred  and  sixty,  on  the  occasion  of  the  thirtieth  anniversary  of 


236 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  IX. 


the  revolution  of  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty,  demonstrations, 
at  once  national  and  religious,  took  place  in  the  streets  of  the 
capital ;  portraits  of  Kosciuszko  and  Kilinski  were  distributed, 
and  a  patriotic  hymn  was  sung  expressing  the  prayer  for  the 
freedom  of  the  fatherland.  On  the  twenty-fifth  of  February, 
eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-one,  the  anniversary  day  of  the 
battle  of  Grokhov,  the  Agricultural  Society  held  a  meeting  to 
deliberate  on  an  address,  in  which  the  Emperor  should  be 
asked  for  a  constitution.  Tumultuous  crowds  gathered  in  the 
streets,  singing  national  songs ;  the  Polish  flag,  the  white  eagle 
on  a  red  ground,  was  unfurled  and  received  in  the  market-place 
with  the  wildest  enthusiasm.  The  gens-d’armes  made  use  of 
their  sabres  to  quell  the  tumult,  and  several  Poles  were 
wounded.  On  the  twenty-seventh,  on  the  occasion  of  a  fu¬ 
neral  service  for  the  victims  of  the  preceding  insurrections,  there 
was  a  new  demonstration,  which  had  to  be  suppressed,  with 
the  loss  of  five  killed  and  ten  wounded.  Prince  Gortchakof, 
Viceroy  of  Poland,  touched  by  these  strange  manifestations, 
in  which  the  disarmed  people  confined  themselves  stoically 
to  facing  the  musketry  without  interrupting  their  songs,  la¬ 
bored  with  Count  Zamoi'ski  for  the  restoration  of  order.  He 
promised  a  strict  investigation  of  the  murder  of  several  priests 
by  the  Cossacks ;  granted  permission  to  form  a  committee  of 
safety,  consisting  of  several  of  the  most  prominent  citizens;  and 
expressed  his  willingness  to  receive  an  address  to  the  Emperor. 
The  address,  asking  the  Emperor  for  a  restoration  of  the  na¬ 
tional  government,  and  appealing  to  his  generosity  and  justice, 
circulated  in  Warsaw,  and  was  filled  with  sixty  thousand  signa¬ 
tures  ;  one  hundred  thousand  persons  in  perfect  order  joined 
the  procession  at  the  funeral  of  the  victims  of  the  twenty- 
seventh  of  February. 

The  Emperor  received  the  address ;  but  while  he  was  un¬ 
willing  to  grant  a  constitution,  he  made,  however,  many  im¬ 
portant  concessions.  By  the  ukas  of  March  twenty-six,  he 
decreed  a  council  of  state  for  the  kingdom,  a  department  of 


1850-  1877.]  ALEXANDER  II.  AND  THE  REFORMS. 


237 


public  education  and  of  worship,  elective  councils  in  each  gov¬ 
ernment  and  each  district,  and  municipal  councils  at  Warsaw 
and  in  the  principal  cities  of  the  kingdom.  The  Marquis  Vie- 
lopolski,  a  Pole  belonging  to  the  party  which  hoped  for  the  re¬ 
establishment  of  Poland  by  Russia,  was  named  director  of  pub¬ 
lic  worship  and  education. 

These  concessions  were  calculated  to  reconcile  at  least  the 
constitutional  party.  Unhappily  their  effect  was  destroyed  by 
the  sudden  dissolution,  on  April  the  sixth,  of  the  committee 
of  safety,  the  citizens’  police,  and  the  Agricultural  Society,  in 
which  the  mass  of  the  people  had  placed  their  hopes.  The 
demonstrations  continued,  the  city  was  illuminated,  and  the 
Roman  Catholic  priests  especially  did  their  best  to  sow  dis¬ 
content.  On  the  seventh  of  April  a  crowd  assembled  in  the 
square  of  the  Zamok  before  the  castle  of  the  viceroy,  and  de¬ 
manded  that  the  edict  of  dissolution  should  be  withdrawn  ;  but 
in  consequence  of  the  hostile  attitude  of  the  troops  sent  out  by 
the  viceroy,  it  dispersed  without  any  result.  On  the  eighth  of 
April  the  multitude  reappeared,  more  numerous  and  more  vio¬ 
lent  than  before,  shouting  that  they  wanted  a  country  ;  a  pos¬ 
tilion,  who  was  driving  a  postchaise,  played  on  his  cornet  the 
favorite  air  of  Dombrovski’s  legions,  “  No,  Poland  shall  not  per¬ 
ish.”  The  crowd,  composed  in  great  part  of  women  and  chil¬ 
dren,  and  headed  by  priests  with  crucifixes,  presented  a  passive 
resistance  and  an  invincible  inertia,  on  which  the  charges  of  cav¬ 
alry  had  no  effect.  The  troops,  at  last  losing  patience,  irritated 
by  shouts  and  even  missiles,  had  recourse  to  their  arms,  and 
fifteen  rounds  of  shot  laid  two  hundred  dead  and  a  large  num¬ 
ber  of  wounded  at  the  feet  of  the  statue  of  the  Virgin.  On 
the  following  days  the  people  appeared  only  in  mourning,  in 
spite  of  the  prohibition  of  the  police.  This  uneasy  state  of 
things  was  prolonged  for  many  months.  The  government 
made  yet  one  more  attempt  at  conciliation  when,  on  the  death 
of  Prince  Gortchakof,  the  Emperor  appointed  Count  Lambert 
as  viceroy,  with  orders  to  apply  the  reforms  decreed  in  March, 


238 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  IX. 


eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-one ;  but  the  effect  of  his  nomina¬ 
tion  was  weakened  by  the  presence  at  his  side  of  men  devoted 
to  the  policy  of  repression.  On  the  tenth  of  October  a  pro¬ 
cession  of  Poles  and  Lithuanians  celebrated  at  Hodlevo,  on  the 
Polo-Lithuanian  frontier,  the  four  hundredth  anniversary  of 
the  union  of  the  two  countries.  The  humanity  of  the  Russian 
commandant  allowed  the  fete  to  be  held  without  the  shedding 
of  blood,  though  the  procession  was  not  permitted  to  enter  the 
city  of  Lublin. 

The  anti-Russian  party  had  not  given  up  the  struggle.  On 
the  fifteenth  of  October,  on  the  anniversary  of  Kosciuszko’s 
death,  the  people  flocked  to  the  churches  of  Warsaw ;  the  mil¬ 
itary  authorities  caused  the  churches  to  be  surrounded  by 
detachments,  without  seeing  that  the  inoffensive  inhabitants, 
alarmed  at  this  display,  would  refuse  to  leave  the  churches,  and 
that  it  would  be  necessary  to  drag  them  out  by  force.  In  fact, 
after  a  useless  blockade  that  lasted  all  day  and  until  four  of 
the  next  morning,  the  soldiers  had  to  break  their  way  violently 
into  the  cathedral,  and  carry  two  thousand  people  to  the  for¬ 
tress.  This  was  declared  to  be  a  desecration  of  the  churches, 
and  they  were  closed  by  the  administrator  of  the  Archbishop. 
The  Protestant  and  Jewish  ministers  followed  his  example, 
and  thus  the  disorder  spread.  Count  Lambert  loudly  com¬ 
plained  to  General  Gerstenszweig,  the  military  governor. 
After  a  fierce  altercation  the  latter  blew  out  his  brains,  and 
Lambert  was  recalled. 

He  was  succeeded,  on  the  fifth  of  November,  by  Count 
Liiders,  who  began  a  period  of  thorough  reaction,  and  caused 
a  considerable  number  of  influential  Warsovians  to  be  trans¬ 
ported.  But  the  demonstrations  only  increased  in  violence. 
The  newly  appointed  Archbishop  Fielinski  reopened  the 
churches  in  February,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-two.  On  the 
twenty-ninth  of  April,  the  Emperor’s  birthday,  an  amnesty  was 
promulgated,  but  caused  little  change.  The  Grand  Duke  Kon¬ 
stantin,  made  viceroy  on  the  eighth  of  June,  eighteen  hundred 


1856-1877.]  ALEXANDER  II.  AND  THE  REFORMS. 


239 


and  sixty-two,  again  tried  the  policy  of  reconciliation.  Vielopol- 
ski,  one  of  the  promoters  of  the  address  to  the  Emperor,  was  ap¬ 
pointed  chief  of  the  civil  power  and  vice-president  of  the  Polish 
State  Council ;  at  the  same  time  Polish  gentlemen  were  nom¬ 
inated  governors  of  the  provinces,  and  directed  to  carry  out 
the  reforms  decreed  in  the  ukas  of  March,  eighteen  hundred 
and  sixty-one.  The  Jews  were  emancipated,  the  condition  of 
the  peasants  was  ameliorated,  the  Catholic  clergy  were  promised 
redress  for  their  grievances,  and  the  University  of  Warsaw 
was  granted  native-born  instructors.  But  the  fanaticism  of 
the  Poles  was  rampant.  Enthusiasts  attempted  the  lives  of 
the  government  officials.  On  the  twenty -seventh  of  June 
General  Liiders  was  severely  wounded  by  an  assassin ;  on 
June  second  three  attempts  were  made  upon  the  Grand  Duke 
himself ;  and  in  August  Vielopolski  was  twice  the  object  of 
assassination.  Violent  men  profited  by  all  the  errors  of  the  gov¬ 
ernment  to  push  things  to  extremity,  and  to  turn  its  good  in¬ 
tentions  to  its  disadvantage.  The  Poles  of  Warsaw  committed 
the  error  of  disquieting  Russia  about  the  provinces  which  it 
regarded  as  Russian,  and  an  integral  part  of  the  empire ;  the 
proprietors  did  not  content  themselves  with  demanding,  in  an 
address  to  Vielopolski,  that  the  government  of  Poland  should 
be  Polish,  which  was  reasonable  and  just,  but  insisted  that  the 
Lithuanian  palatinates  should  be  reunited  to  the  kingdom. 
The  upper  classes  of  Podolia  in  October  expressed  the  same 
wish  with  regard  to  that  province,  to  Volhynia  and  the  Ukraina. 
These  imprudences  caused  the  exile  of  Zamoiski,  and  the  ar¬ 
rest  of  the  Podolian  agitators. 

All  understanding  became  now  impossible ;  an  exercise  of 
arbitrary  authority  precipitated  the  explosion.  Since  the  peace 
of  Paris  the  usual  military  conscription  had  been  suspended  in 
Poland,  in  order  to  give  the  country  chance  of  recuperation  ; 
but  in  September,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-two,  the  order 
came  for  a  renewal  of  the  offensive  measure.  Vielopolski, 
who  was  aware  of  the  dangerous  state  of  public  opinion,  con- 


240 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  IX. 


ceived  the  desperate  expedient  of  ordering  the  military  to  seize 
all  the  instigators  of  disturbances  throughout  Poland,  and 
place  them  in  Russian  regiments.  He  thus  hoped  to  render 
them  harmless. 

During  the  night  of  the  fifteenth  of  January,  eighteen  hun¬ 
dred  and  sixty-three,  between  the  hours  of  one  and  eight,  the 
recruits,  thus  arbitrarily  chosen,  were  taken  from  their  houses, 
from  their  very  beds,  and  hastily  carried  away  to  the  army.  Stu¬ 
dents,  usually  exempted  from  serving  in  the  ranks,  were  this  time 
not  spared  :  the  conscription  was  especially  enforced  upon  men 
upwards  of  fifteen  years  of  age  who  had  no  settled  profession, 
and  hence  were  at  leisure  to  attend  to  political  agitation.  Be¬ 
fore  the  conscription  had  taken  place,  many  escaped  into  the 
woods,  where  their  friends  brought  them  provisions,  clothing, 
guns,  and  ammunition.  The  official  journal  of  Warsaw  pub¬ 
lished  an  account  of  the  seizure  of  the  recruits,  and  added  that 
there  had  been  no  resistance ;  that,  on  the  contrary,  the  young 
men  marched  to  the  barracks  contentedly  and  even  gayly. 
This  was  a  last  insult.  In  all  circles  the  anger  and  indigna¬ 
tion  of  those  whose  friends  had  been  so  summarily  taken  from 
them  knew  no  bounds. 

The  conscripts  who  escaped  from  the  police  formed  the  nu¬ 
cleus  of  the  rebel  bands  which  appeared  at  Blonie  and  at  Sie- 
rotsk.  Before  the  first  of  February  encounters  took  place  be¬ 
tween  Poles  and  Russians  at  Radom,  Plotsk,  Lublin,  and  other 
places.  The  fighting  soon  became  universal.  A  secret  central 
committee,  which  received  implicit  obedience  though  its  mem¬ 
bers  were  not  known,  addressed  a  proclamation  to  the  people 
with  a  summons  to  arms,  and  on  the  twenty-second  of  January 
was  established  as  a  provisional  government.  Decrees  were 
issued  granting  those  peasants  who  fought  in  the  national  army 
liberty  and  free  possession  of  property.  The  peasants,  however, 
generally  showed  reluctance  in  coming  forward :  it  was  from 
the  city  population,  the  clergy,  and  many  of  the  nobility  that 
the  revolutionists  received  encouragement.  But  the  aristo- 


1856-1877.]  ALEXANDER  H.  AND  THE  REFORMS. 


241 


cratic  party,  or  the  “  Whites/'  held  with  Vielopolski  at  least 
during  the  early  months  of  the  insurrection.  When  the  West¬ 
ern  powers  expressed  sympathy  and  offered  diplomatic  inter¬ 
vention,  then  the  heads  of  the  Agricultural  Society  began  to 
participate  in  the  revolution,  because  they  feared,  if  they  longer 
held  aloof,  that  Russia  would  declare  the  revolt  to  be  merely 
that  of  a  mob,  and  because  they  feared  also  that  they  were 
losing  moral  influence  and  giving  Poland  into  the  hands  of 
demagogues. 

Mieroslavski  was  chosen  dictator,  but  was  soon  defeated  and 
driven  over  the  border.  Langievitch,  appointed  dictator  on  the 
twelfth  of  March,  was  also  obliged  to  take  refuge  in  Galicia, 
where  he  was  arrested  by  the  Austrian  authorities.  Archbishop 
Fielinski  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Emperor,  begging  him  “  to 
put  an  end  to  this  war  of  extermination/’  and  showing  that  the 
only  way  to  do  so  was  to  give  the  Poles  an  autonomous  adminis¬ 
tration.  Alexander,  on  the  thirteenth  of  April,  offered  amnesty 
to  all  who  would  lay  down  their  arms  within  a  month ;  but  the 
central  committee,  which  acted  as  dictator,  repudiated  the  am¬ 
nesty,  and  its  influence  was  so  great  that  no  one  attempted  to 
take  advantage  of  the  Emperor’s  mercy.  It  also  passed  a  de¬ 
cree  declaring  every  act  which  was  calculated  to  hinder  its 
authority  or  weaken  the  revolutionary  impulse  to  be  high  trea¬ 
son,  punishable  by  death,  and  the  decree  was  executed  rigor¬ 
ously.  The  war,  however,  could  by  no  means  assume  the  great 
character  of  those  of  seventeen  hundred  and  ninety-four  and  of 
eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-one ;  there  was  now  no  Polish  army 
to  struggle  seriously  with  that  of  Russia :  it  was  a  petty  war 
of  guerillas  and  sharpshooters,  who  could  nowhere  hold  their 
own  against  the  Russians,  but  who  plunged  into  the  thick  for¬ 
ests  of  Poland,  and  concealed  themselves  there,  or  who  fled 
only  to  appear  farther  on  and  harass  the  columns.  There  were 
no  battles,  only  skirmishes,  the  most  serious  of  which  was  that 
of  Vengrov,  on  the  sixth  of  February,  eighteen  hundred  and 
sixty-three.  A  few  chiefs  made  themselves  names :  among 

TOL.  III.  16 


242 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  IX. 


these  were  Leof  Frankovski,  Sigismond  Padlevski,  Kasimir 
Bogdanovitch,  Mielentski,  the  energetic  Bossak-Hauke,  who 
afterwards  fell  under  the  French  flag  in  the  fields  of  Bur¬ 
gundy,  the  French  Rochebrune  and  Blankenheim,  Miss  Pusto- 
voizhov,  Sierakovski,  an  ex-colonel  in  the  Russian  army,  who 
was  hanged  after  his  check  in  Lithuania,  the  priest-soldier 
Matskievitch,  Narbutt,  a  son  of  the  historian,  and  Lelevel,  a 
Warsaw  workman  who  adopted  this  pseudonym. 

The  Russian  liberals,  since  the  accession  of  Alexander,  had 
felt  strong  sympathy  for  Poland.  Their  wishes  for  the  new 
regime,  their  hatred  of  old  institutions,  had  common  ground. 
Polish  freedom  was  discussed  in  the  same  breath  with  Russian 
freedom.  Herzen  and  Bakunin,  the  leaders  of  radicalism, 
were  the  champions  of  free  constitutions  and  perfect  liberty  for 
both  countries.  The  London  exiles  embraced  the  defence  of 
Polish  independence  with  passionate  enthusiasm ;  the  KoloJcol 
summoned  the  officers  of  Polish  regiments  to  refuse  to  fight 
against  the  cause  of  freedom.  Liberal  Russia  was  undecided 
what  course  to  take,  which  side  to  choose. 

It  was  at  this  critical  period  that  Mikhail  Katkof,  the  editor 
of  the  Moscow  Gazette,  spoke  the  word  which  was  to  decide 
the  momentous  question.  He  declared  that  Russia  had  no 
right  to  amuse  itself  with  liberal  ideas  in  face  of  the  danger 
that  was  threatening  on  the  side  of  Poland;  that  every  Russian 
patriot  had  only  one  duty,  and  that  was  to  crush  all  rebels  who 
endangered  the  unity  of  the  state.  He  declared  that  Russia 
had  long  enough  shown  forbearance,  and  allowed  the  rebels 
to  do  as  they  pleased ;  had  long  enough  restrained  the  arm  of 
vengeance  for  the  sake  of  Utopian  liberalism.  The  point  in 
question,  according  to  him,  was  not  that  of  concession  to 
Poles,  but  whether  Russia  was  to  be  obliged  to  give  up  the 
border  lands  which  for  more  than  fifty  years  had  been  its  un¬ 
disputed  territory.  He  showed  how  the  Russian  state  must  be 
maintained  in  its  entirety  if  the  liberal  plans  for  the  future 
were  to  be  carried  out.  Only  foolish  sentimentality  could  see 


1856-1877.]  ALEXANDEK  II.  AND  THE  KEFOKMS. 


243 


in  the  Poles  aught  else  than  foes  to  Russia.  “  He  who  has  a 
spark  of  patriotic  honor  within  his  breast  must  forever  break 
with  these  traitors,  nor  sheathe  his  sword  until  the  last  rebel¬ 
lious  Pole  lies  prone  upon  the  ground.”  This  utterance  of 
Pan-slavism  had  a  tremendous  effect.  When  the  revolution 
had  spread  all  over  Lithuania,  then  Katkof  demanded  “  the 
restoration  of  the  Russian  character  of  the  Lithuanian  land 
and  the  old  national  freedom  which  had  once  prevailed  there.” 
The  democrats  were  easily  persuaded  that  a  contest  with  the 
Poles  and  against  their  claims  on  Lithuania  was  a  liberal  work ; 
the  orthodox  Philo-slavs  were  assured  that  they  ought  to  re¬ 
sist  the  Polish  Catholic  party,  and  restore  the  Greek  church  to 
Lithuania;  and  the  Pan-slavists  were  taught  that  the  Poles 
were  suborned  to  Roman  Catholicism  and  Western  ideas,  and 
must  be  brought  back  to  orthodoxy  and  nationality.  The 
Moscow  Gazette  also  harped  on  the  danger  of  Western  inter¬ 
vention  and  a  foreign  war.  Thus  all  parties  united  against 
Poland  and  in  favor  of  Russianizing  the  Lithuanian  lands. 
Katkof  also  succeeded  in  getting  General  Muravief,  who  had 
hitherto  been  hated  by  every  liberal  as  a  military  despot  of 
the  deepest  dye,  appointed  to  crush  the  revolt  with  his  brutal 
power.  His  cruelty  was  looked  upon  as  the  highest  virtue. 
He  was  to  restore  the  Russian  character  to  the  northwest 
provinces.  “  Muravief  interpreted  this  phrase  with  the  most 
frightful  reality.  In  a  land  whose  cultured  classes  for  cen¬ 
turies  had  consisted  of  nothing  but  Poles  and  Catholics,  in 
which  the  ideas  of  culture  and  Polish  rule  had  always  been 
synonymous,  the  national  governor-general  treated  the  Poles 
as  foreigners,  forbade  the  use  of  the  Polish  language  and  the 
employment  of  Polish  letters,  ordered  hundreds  of  Catholic 
churches  to  be  closed  under  the  pretext  that  they  had  been 
Russian  four  centuries  before,  and  executed  all  this  with  the 
approval  of  the  Russian  press  and  the  Russian  public.  As  in¬ 
capable  as  they  had  been  at  Moscow  and  Saint  Petersburg,  in 
the  years  from  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-nine  to  eighteen 


244 


HISTOBY  OF  BUSSIA. 


[CHi.P.  IX. 


hundred  and  sixty-one,  to  distinguish  between  anarchy  and 
freedom,  equally  incapable  were  they  now  of  distinguish¬ 
ing  the  right  of  self-preservation  from  the  rudest  barbarism 
and  the  trampling  underfoot  of  all  human  rights.  Patriotic 
phrases  were  spoken  without  thought,  and  there  was  no  horror 
that  was  not  invested  with  some  show  of  patriotism,  and  thus 
pronounced  salutary.  There  was  no  banquet  and  no  public 
demonstration  which  did  not  end  with  telegrams  sent  to  the 
Russian  leader  at  Vilna  and  to  the  Moscow  journalist.” 

The  exasperated  Russians  treated  the  towns  and  villages 
concerned  in  the  insurrection  with  great  cruelty.  The  village 
of  Ibiany  was  destroyed ;  all  the  Polish  chiefs  taken  with  arms 
in  their  hands  were  shot  or  hanged.  General  Muravief  in 
Lithuania  declared  that  it  was  “  useless  to  make  prisoners.” 
Count  Berg,  who  in  July  was  appointed  Vielopolski’s  successor 
as  vice-president  of  the  council,  and,  on  the  departure  of  the 
Grand  Duke  Konstantin  for  Saint  Petersburg,  on  the  twenty- 
fifth  of  August,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-three,  was  made 
viceroy,  took  the  severest  measures  of  repression.  All  the 
higher  and  lower  offices  of  state  were  filled  with  Russians.  All 
sorts  of  punishments  were  inflicted  upon  the  unhappy  Poles. 
So,  too,  Dlotovskoi,  m  Livonia,  and  Annenkof,  in  the  Ukraina, 
were  the  agents  of  a  rigorous  system  of  cruelty  and  repression. 
Fielinski,  Archbishop  of  Warsaw,  was  transported  into  the  in¬ 
terior  of  Russia,  as  a  punishment  for  having  written  his  letter 
to  the  Emperor. 

The  sympathy  of  Europe  became  aroused.  On  the  fifth  of 
January,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty -three,  the  French  minister 
Billault,  in  the  tribune  of  the  Corps  Legislatif,  blamed  the  “  base¬ 
less  hopes  excited  in  the  minds  of  patriots,  whose  powerless 
efforts  could  only  bring  about  new  evils  ” ;  he  recommended 
the  insurgents  to  the  clemency  of  Alexander.  Then  France, 
England,  and  Austria  decided  to  have  recourse  to  diplomatic  in¬ 
tervention,  and  invited  the  other  powers  who  had  signed  the 
Treaty  of  Vienna  to  join  in  their  efforts.  They  laid  before  the 


1856  -  1877.]  ALEXANDER  II.  AND  THE  REFORMS. 


245 


Russian  government  the  notes  of  April,  eighteen  hundred  and 
sixty-three,  which  invited  it  to  put  an  end  to  the  periodical 
agitations  of  Poland  by  a  policy  of  conciliation.  On  June 
seventeenth  the  three  powers  proposed  a  programme  with  the 
following  conditions :  An  amnesty ;  the  establishment  of  a 
national  representation ;  the  nomination  of  Poles  to  public 
offices  ;  the  abolition  of  restrictions  placed  on  Catholic  wor¬ 
ship  ;  the  exclusive  use  of  the  Polish  language,  as  the  official 
language  of  the  administration,  of  justice,  and  of  education  ;  a 
regular  and  legal  system  of  recruiting.  This  intervention  of 
the  Western  powers,  which  was  supported  by  no  military  dem¬ 
onstration,  was  rejected  by  the  famous  note  of  Prince  Gort- 
chakof,  Chancellor  of  the  empire,  and  the  idea  of  a  European 
conference  was  likewise  rejected.  Europe  found  itself  power¬ 
less,  and  Napoleon  the  Third  was  forced  to  content  himself, 
in  his  speech  from  the  throne,  with  the  declaration  that  the 
treaties  of  eighteen  hundred  and  fifteen  were  “trampled  un¬ 
derfoot  at  Warsaw.”  The  conduct  of  Prussia  was  quite  dif¬ 
ferent.  It  concluded  with  Russia  the  convention  of  the  eighth 
of  February,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-three,  for  the  sup¬ 
pression  of  the  Polish  manifestations,  and  thus  laid  the  founda¬ 
tion  of  that  Prusso-Russian  alliance  which  was  to  prove  so  use¬ 
ful  to  its  interests. 

This  insurrection  cost  Poland  dear.  The  last  remains  of  its 
autonomy  were  extinguished.  To-day  the  “kingdom”  is 
nothing  but  a  name ;  in  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-six  the 
country  was  divided  into  ten  provinces.  The  Russian  lan¬ 
guage  has  replaced  the  Polish  in  all  public  acts  ;  the  Univer¬ 
sity  of  Warsaw  is  a  Russian  university ;  the  primary,  secondary, 
and  superior  education  all  lend  their  aid  to  the  work  of  de¬ 
nationalization.  Poland  lost  its  institutions  without  obtaining 
the  benefit  of  those  of  Russia,  —  the  zemstva,  the  jury,  and  the 
new  tribunals.  As  the  government  held  the  nobles  responsi¬ 
ble  for  the  insurrection,  it  therefore  decidedly  favored  the 
peasants,  authorizing  them  to  “enter  into  full  and  entire 


246 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  IX. 


possession  of  the  lands  which  they  held.”  The  price  of  re¬ 
demption  which  was  to  have  been  paid  into  the  hands  of  the 
noble  to  indemnify  him  for  his  loss  was  extremely  small,  but 
even  this  was  now  transferred  to  the  state,  and  only  those 
nobles  who  took  no  part  in  the  revolt  were  allowed  to  receive 
the  advantage  of  it.  This  measure,  which  robbed  the  landed 
proprietors  of  Lithuania  of  three  fourths  of  their  wealth,  was 
fully  approved  of  by  the  Russian  liberals.  An  ukas  of  the 
tenth  of  December,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-five,  com¬ 
manded  all  persons  compromised  in  the  revolt  to  sell  their  es¬ 
tates  within  a  short  time  allotted;  another  law  forbade  persons 
of  Polish  descent  and  professing  the  Catholic  faith  to  buy  them 
in ;  Russians  alone  might  be  purchasers. 

Katkof  declared  that  the  Germans  in  the  Baltic  provinces 
and  the  Swedes  in  Finland  were  as  dangerous  as  the  Poles,  and 
that  they  ought  to  be  Russianized ;  but  the  government  replied 
that  it  was  convinced  of  the  loyalty  of  these  provinces,  and 
would  leave  them  untouched.  Finland,  therefore,  had  all  its 
privileges  confirmed.  In  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-three, 
Alexander  convoked  the  diet  of  the  grand  duchy,  the  second 
that  had  been  held  since  the  annexation  to  the  empire.  The 
German  nobility  of  the  Baltic  provinces,  more  docile  and  more 
politic  than  that  of  Poland,  were  not  disturbed.  The  Univer¬ 
sity  of  Dorpat  remained  a  German  university ;  the  government 
took  measures  simply  to  protect  the  language  and  religion  of 
the  empire  against  the  propagation  of  the  German  tongue  and 
of  the  Protestant  religion.  The  bold  demands  of  the  Slavo¬ 
phil  Iuri  Samarin,  in  his  “  Russian  Frontiers,”  a  phenomenal 
pamphlet  published  in  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-seven,  and 
the  lively  polemic  sustained  against  him  by  the  Baltic  writers, 
Schirren,  Wilhelm  von  Bock,  Julius  Eckart,  and  Sternberg, 
did  not  lead  to  any  important  changes  in  the  three  govern¬ 
ments  of  Livonia,  Kurland,  and  Esthonia, 


1856-1877.]  ALEXANDER  II.  AND  THE  REFORMS. 


247 


INTELLECTUAL  MOVEMENT;  MATERIAL  PROGRESS; 

EDUCATION. 

The  Russian  agitation  began  simultaneously  with  the  troub¬ 
les  in  Poland.  At  the  beginning  it  seemed  associated  with 
the  Polish  movement.  The  students  of  Saint  Petersburg  made 
open  manifestations  of  sympathy  at  the  time  of  the  Warsaw 
anniversaries ;  and  the  students  of  Kazan  attended  the  funeral 
of  Petrof,  the  insurgent  peasant.  Kovalevski,  the  minister  of 
education,  had  prepared  a  project  for  allowing  the  utmost  free¬ 
dom  in  instruction  and  for  the  abolition  of  the  old  military 
system  which  treated  the  students  like  cadets.  This  project, 
borrowed  from  principles  which  had  been  tested  in  Germany, 
was  submitted  for  examination  to  a  committee  composed  of 
Count  Viktor  Panin,  Minister  of  Justice,  Prince  Dolgoruki,  the 
head  of  the  secret  police,  Count  Stroganof,  and  others  who, 
thoroughly  imbued  with  reactionary  sentiments,  passed  an  ad¬ 
verse  judgment  upon  Kovalevski’s  project.  He  was  obliged 
to  retire,  and  was  succeeded  by  Count  Putiatin,  a  thoroughly 
incapable  and  narrow  man.  During  the  following  winter  Pu¬ 
tiatin  prepared  a  new  law  which  took  away  from  the  students 
much  of  the  freedom  which  they  had  before  enjoyed ;  the  en¬ 
trance  fee  was  raised;  the  students  were  forbidden  to  hold 
meetings,  to  continue  their  fund  for  the  assistance  of  poor 
young  men,  and  their  libraries  and  conferences  were  closed. 

This  new  law  was  scarcely  noticed  in  consequence  of  the 
nearness  of  the  vacation,  but  in  the  autumn  it  was  received 
with  a  storm  of  indignation  at  Saint  Petersburg,  Moscow, 
Kharkof,  and  Kief.  The  students  in  a  body  refused  to  sign 
their  acceptance  of  the  distasteful  requirements,  and  several 
hundred  sent  in  a  petition  to  Sresnevski,  the  acting  vice-vector, 
in  which  they  protested  against  the  increase  in  the  admission 
fee,  the  abolition  of  their  fund,  and  the  prohibition  of  their 
journal.  The  curator  Philippson  replied  to  this  statement  of 
their  grievances  by  closing  the  lectures,  the  library,  and  the 


248 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  IX. 


chemical  department.  On  the  twenty-fourth  of  September 
some  nine  hundred  students,  accompanied  by  a  throng  of 
people,  proceeded  to  the  curator’s  house  to  demand  explana¬ 
tions.  General  Patkul,  the  head  of  the  city  police,  and  the 
Grand  Duke  Konstantin  vainly  attempted  to  disperse  the  ex¬ 
cited  youths.  A  deputation  was  sent  to  treat  with  the  curator, 
and  while  the  negotiations  were  going  on,  Count  Shuvalof, 
General  Patkul,  and  General  Ignatief,  with  a  body  of  soldiers, 
surrounded  the  students  on  all  sides.  The  deputation  could 
come  to  no  terms  with  Philippson,  who  demanded  as  a  prelim¬ 
inary  the  signature  of  the  declaration;  to  this  the  students 
absolutely  refused  to  submit.  Finally,  on  the  promise  of  the 
students  no  longer  to  disturb  the  peace  of  the  city,  Philippson, 
seconded  by  Ignatief,  the  governor-general,  agreed  to  open  the 
lectures  again  on  the  second  of  October,  and  the  libraries  and 
laboratories  on  the  following  morning,  and  that  no  one  should 
be  put  under  arrest. 

On  the  twenty-fifth  of  September  the  news  spread  that  the 
student  deputies  and  spokesmen  had  been  surprised  during 
the  night  and  thrown  into  prison.  It  was  discovered,  how¬ 
ever,  that  the  minister  was  the  one  in  fault,  and  not  Philippson, 
who  had  done  his  best  to  promote  the  interests  of  the  students. 
The  students  therefore  resolved  to  present  an  address  to  Count 
Putiatin,  and  while  the  paper  was  in  circulation  soldiers  ap¬ 
peared  with  bayonets  to  take  the  university  building,  the  gates 
of  which  were  in  possession  of  the  students.  But  the  demon¬ 
strations  of  the  public  in  favor  of  the  students  were  so  pro¬ 
nounced  that  the  troops  were  withdrawn.  A  deputation  of 
five  young  men  went  to  the  minister,  but  were  unable  to  get 
any  satisfaction.  They  were  allowed  to  depart  in  peace,  but 
on  the  following  night  they  and  several  other  ringleaders 
were  taken  from  their  houses  and  incarcerated  in  the  fortress, 
and  the  university  building  was  guarded  by  a  detachment  of 
infantry.  The  young  men  were  severely  punished,  the  univer- 
»ity  lectures  were  closed  for  several  months ;  but  when  the  Em- 


1856  -  1877.]  ALEXANDER  II.  AND  THE  REFORMS. 


249 


peror  returned  from  the  Crimea,  the  minister  who  had  acted 
with  such  perfidy  and  severity  was  obliged  to  resign,  and  was 
replaced  by  Golovnin,  the  Secretary  of  State. 

The  student  revolts  in  Moscow  were  even  more  serious. 
Collisions  occurred  between  the  discontented  young  men  and 
the  police,  and  several  of  the  former  were  wounded.  Professor 
Pavlof,  who  almost  challenged  insurrection,  was  forbidden 
longer  to  lecture,  and  was  sent  to  Siberia  without  trial ;  the 
imprisoned  students  were  treated  with  pitiless  severity.  But 
public  opinion  declared  itself  so  strongly  that  a  new  statute 
was  prepared  which  met  the  requirements  of  the  time.  Gen¬ 
eral  Ignatief,  in  consequence  of  his  compliance  with  Putiatin’s 
projects,  was  compelled  to  resign  his  post  as  governor-general 
of  Saint  Petersburg.  He  was  followed  by  Prince  Suvarof,  “  a 
man  generally  beloved  for  his  humane  disposition.”  His  ap¬ 
pointment  was  received  with  universal  joy  and  gratitude. 

Next  in  importance  came  addresses  from  the  assemblies  of 
nobles  :  that  of  Tver,  in  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-two,  re¬ 
quested  the  abolition  of  privileges,  and  the  convocation  of  a 
national  assembly ;  in  that  of  Tula  a  meeting  of  the  States- 
general  was  discussed.  Events  in  Poland  soon  gave  the  cur¬ 
rent  of  ideas  a  new  direction.  The  Moscow  Gazette,  under 
Mr.  Katkof,  one  of  the  most  brilliant  and  original  journalists 
of  modern  times,  seized  the  leadership  of  opinion.  It  awakened 
the  national  Russian  sentiment  against  the  demands  of  the 
Poles,  and  declared  to  them  that  nothing  now  remained  for 
Poland  “  but  to  unite  its  aspirations  with  those  of  Russia,  and 
thoroughly  to  accept  the  principles  which  have  been  developed 
and  are  still  in  process  of  development  in  the  political  growth 
of  the  Russian  people.”  It  provoked  demonstrations  in  honor 
of  Muravief,  glorified  what  it  called  his  energetic  and  pacific 
measures  in  Lithuania,  and  audaciously  ascribed  the  numerous 
fires  which  occurred  in  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-two  to 
Polish  emissaries.  By  making  itself  the  advocate  of  Russian 
nationality,  the  press  gained  unexpected  freedom,  and  Mr, 


250 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  IX. 


Katkof  took  advantage  of  it  to  impose  upon  even  the  ministers. 
He  was  the  man  of  the  new  state  of  things,  as  Herzen  had 
been  that  of  the  liberal  movement  at  the  beginning  of  the 
reign.  On  the  fourth  of  April,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty- 
six,  Vladimir  Karakozof,  who  had  formerly  studied  at  Moscow, 
fired  his  pistol  at  the  Emperor  as  he  was  walking  in  the  Sum¬ 
mer  Garden.  It  was  found  that  the  young  man  was  not  a 
Pole,  but  a  Russian  democratic  socialist,  belonging  to  a  revolu¬ 
tionary  society  established  in  the  two  capitals.  This  attempt 
and  that  of  Berezovski,  at  Paris,  in  eighteen  hundred  and 
sixty-seven,  in  the  name  of  the  Polish  revolution,  show  how 
deeply  men’s  minds  were  troubled.  It  would  be  idle  to  give 
a  detailed  account  of  the  changes  of  ministers  —  sometimes 
progressive,  sometimes  reactionary  —  who  reflected  the  im¬ 
pressions  produced  by  events  on  the  mind  of  the  Emperor. 
Under  a  government  which  on  the  whole  was  liberal,  Russia 
still  continued  to  undergo  transformation.  It  will  be  sufficient 
to  enumerate  a  few  of  the  results. 

The  preceding  government  bequeathed  to  Russia  only  three 
hundred  and  fifty  kilometers  of  railway.  In  eighteen  hundred 
and  seventy-four  there  were  less  than  sixteen  thousand  versts ; 
in  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-nine  there  were  more  than 
twenty  thousand  versts  in  active  operation,  and  about  seven 
hundred  and  thirty-six  versts  in  process  of  construction.  The 
net  receipts  of  the  fifty -three  different  lines  had  increased  from 
about  thirty  million  rubles  in  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-nine, 
to  seventy-eight  million  seven  hundred  and  eighty-five  thou¬ 
sand  four  hundred  and  ninety-seven  rubles  in  eighteen  hun¬ 
dred  and  seventy-eight.  The  railways  unite  nearly  all  the 
large  towns  of  Russia  in  Europe ;  in  the  north  they  end  at 
Helsingfors  and  at  Vologda;  in  the  east  at  Nijni-Novgorod, 
Saratof,  Samara,  with  a  line  projected  as  far  as  Orenburg ;  in 
the  south  at  Kishenef,  Odessa,  Kherson,  Sevastopol,  and  Tag¬ 
anrog,  with  a  line  projected  as  far  as  Vladikavkas.  Russia  is 
placed  in  communication  with  the  west  by  means  of  the  lines 


STEAMBOAT  ON  THE  RIVER  VOLGA 


1856-1877.]  ALEXANDER  II.  AND  THE  REFORMS. 


251 


of  Saint  Petersburg  and  Berlin,  Warsaw  and  Berlin,  Warsaw 
and  Vienna,  and  Kishenef  and  Iassy.  The  Caucasian  line 
already  unites  Poti  on  the  Black  Sea  to  Tiflis  ;  it  will  be  pro¬ 
longed  as  far  as  Baku  on  the  Caspian,  which  will  be  connected 
by  steam  navigation  with  Krasnovodsk.  The  Siberian  railway 
is  at  present  under  consideration.  The  four  seas,  the  great 
lakes,  the  rivers  and  canals  of  Russia,  are  furrowed  by  numer¬ 
ous  steamboats.  The  river  Volga  is  navigated  by  the  steam¬ 
boats  of  four  great  companies  which  run  from  Tver  to 
Astrakhan.  Others  go  from  Kama  to  Perm.  They  are  re¬ 
markable  for  the  comfort  which  they  offer  travellers.  On  the 
Caspian  Sea  there  is  postal  service  between  Astrakhan,  Der- 
bent,  Baku,  Enzeli,  and  Ali-Alad.  Steam  navigation  has 
tended  to  destroy  the  occupation  of  the  hirlaki  who  were  ac¬ 
customed  to  tow  rafts  and  vessels  from  Astrakhan  to  Ruibinsk, 
a  distance  of  more  than  three  thousand  five  hundred  kilo¬ 
meters.  The  telegraph  and  the  postal  service,  of  which  the 
cost  has  been  lowered,  put  the  empire  in  rapid  and  regular 
communication  with  the  whole  world.  In  January,  eighteen 
hundred  and  seventy-nine,  there  were  eighty-eight  thousand  five 
hundred  and  eighteen  versts  of  telegraph,  with  about  double  that 
length  of  wire.  Of  the  two  thousand  one  hundred  and  sixty-six 
offices,  nine  hundred  and  thirty-five  belong  to  the  state.  Dur¬ 
ing  the  preceding  year  five  million  three  hundred  and  sixty- 
nine  thousand  nine  hundred  and  thirty -five  messages  were  sent, 
four  fifths  of  which  were  on  inland  service.  The  financial 
statement  showed  a  surplus.  There  were  three  thousand  six 
hundred  and  seventy-eight  post-offices  in  eighteen  hundred 
and  seventy-eight,  conveying  ninety-three  million  six  hun¬ 
dred  and  ninety-two  thousand  five  hundred  and  sixty-one  let¬ 
ters  and  post-cards  and  sixty-three  million  three  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  and  sixty -four  newspapers.  The  postal  depart¬ 
ment  is  not,  as  yet,  self-supporting. 

Trade  has  also  greatly  developed.  “  The  people  are  begin¬ 
ning  to  move,”  writes  Mr.  Herbert  Barry,  “  and  many  manu- 


252 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  IX. 


factories  are  in  course  of  construction.  The  Russians  are 
clever  at  all  handicrafts.  An  Englishman,  the  director  of  a 
paper  factory  which  I  was  astonished  to  find  in  the  middle  of 
the  Ural  Mountains,  told  me  that  in  England  many  years  of 
apprenticeship  were  needed  to  make  a  good  paper-worker,  but 
that  a  Russian  learned  as  much  in  three  months  as  an  English¬ 
man  in  three  years.”  The  branches  of  commerce  which  have 
prospered  the  most  are  the  manufactures  of  cotton  and  silk, 
the  establishments  in  the  interest  of  metallurgy,  and  steel 
foundries.  In  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-four  there  were  es¬ 
timated  to  be  in  European  Russia  fourteen  million  seven  hun¬ 
dred  and  nineteen  thousand  horses,  forty-three  million  sheep, 
and  twenty-one  million  cattle,  the  annual  income  of  which 
amounted  to  between  three  and  four  hundred  million  of 
rubles.  In  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-three  more  than  one 
hundred  and  eighty  million  kilograms  of  iron-ore  was  pro¬ 
duced,  and  two  hundred  and  seventy-eight  million  four  hun¬ 
dred  and  sixty  thousand  kilos  of  coal.  In  eighteen  hundred 
and  twenty-eight  only  a  little  more  than  five  thousand  kilos  of 
gold  were  produced  in  Russia.  In  eighteen  hundred  and 
forty-seven  the  product  was  one  hundred  and  eighty-five  thou¬ 
sand  two  hundred  and  seven  kilos.  In  eighteen  hundred  and 
sixty-five  new  mines  were  discovered  in  the  Trans-Caucasus 
and  the  following  year  in  Turkestan.  Numerous  banks  have 
been  started,  even  in  some  of  the  most  remote  towns  of  the 
empire. 

Primary  education  in  Russia  leaves  more  to  be  desired  than 
in  any  other  country  in  Europe.  Russia,  with  its  nine  or  ten 
per  cent  of  people  who  can  read,  is  below  even  Austria,  which 
reckons  only  twenty-nine  per  cent.  In  France  the  average  is 
seventy-seven  per  cent.  Owing  to  the  efforts  of  the  minister 
of  public  instruction,  and  the  minister  of  war  in  his  regi¬ 
mental  schools,  the  average  is  slowly  but  surely  rising.  In 
eighteen  hundred  and  sixty,  out  of  one  hundred  recruits  only 
two  could  read  and  write ;  ten  years  later  eleven  per  cent  was 


1856-1877.]  ALEXANDER  II.  AND  THE  REFORMS. 


258 


the  average.  The  proportion  in  the  German  Baltic  provinces 
was  far  greater,  being  one  to  eighteen ;  in  Finland,  one  to 
twenty-one ;  in  Poland,  one  to  thirty-four.  The  population  of 
Russia,  in  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-seven,  was  eighty- 
six  million  seven  hundred  and  twenty-eight  thousand.  Pri¬ 
mary  education  is  more  advanced  in  Poland  because  of  the 
efforts  of  the  government ;  in  the  Baltic  provinces  and  in  Fin¬ 
land,  because  of  the  Protestant  culture ;  in  Central  Russia,  be¬ 
cause  of  the  industrial  influences.  In  eighteen  hundred  and 
seventy-one  the  minister,  Tolstoi,  in  his  report  to  the  Emperor, 
enumerates  twenty-four  thousand  schools  attended  by  eight 
hundred  and  seventy-five  thousand  scholars,  and  four  hundred 
and  twenty-four  superior  primary  schools,  attended  by  twenty- 
seven  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty  scholars. 

On  the  first  of  January,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-two, 
there  existed  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  gymnasia  and  thirty- 
two  progymnasia ,  with  forty-two  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
ninety-one  pupils.  At  this  same  date  Mr.  Tolstoi  had  issued 
an  order  to  introduce  or  confirm  the  study  of  Greek  and  Latin 
in  these  establishments.  On  the  other  hand,  the  regulation  of 
the  twelfth  of  May,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-three,  insti¬ 
tuted  practical  schools  for  the  teaching  of  professions. 

In  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-six,  the  universities  of  Saint 
Petersburg,  founded  in  eighteen  hundred  and  nineteen ;  Mos¬ 
cow,  founded  in  seventeen  hundred  and  fifty-five;  Kharkof, 
Kazan,  Kief,  Dorpat,  founded  in  sixteen  hundred  and  thirty, 
but  reorganized  in  eighteen  hundred  and  two;  New  Russia, 
or  Odessa,  founded  in  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-four,  and 
Warsaw,  founded  in  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-nine,  —  reck¬ 
oned  five  thousand  four  hundred  and  sixty-six  students  and 
four  hundred  and  fifty-seven  free  pupils.  Among  the  stu¬ 
dents,  thirteen  hundred  and  twenty-five  were  the  recipients  of 
scholarships. 

To  the  educational  institutions  for  the  daughters  of  the 
nobility,  established  by  Catherine  the  Second  and  developed 


254  HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA.  [Chap.  IX. 

by  Maria  Teodorovna,  wife  of  Paul,  were  added  seminaries  of 
a  kind  more  appropriate  to  the  new  needs,  and  where  young 
girls  of  all  classes  are  received.  These  are  the  female  gym¬ 
nasia  and  progymnasia,  —  lyceums  for  girls,  though  not  board¬ 
ing-schools.  The  earliest  of  these  schools  were  founded  under 
the  auspices  of  the  late  Empress,  from  the  funds  belonging  to 
the  fourth  section  of  the  imperial  chancery.  They  are  twenty- 
six  in  number,  —  six  at  Saint  Petersburg,  five  at  Moscow,  fif¬ 
teen  in  the  provinces.  The  state  of  female  education  is  thus 
well  described  by  Julius  Eckardt,  the  author  of  “  Europe  Be¬ 
fore  and  After  the  War”:  “  The  miserable  condition  of  female 
education  was  so  notorious,  so  indisputable,  and  had  been 
already,  in  the  days  of  the  Crimean  war,  a  fact  so  universally 
lamented,  that  Norof,  the  Minister  of  Instruction  at  that  time, 
was  forced  to  confess  it,  in  his  report  of  eighteen  hundred  and 
fifty-six,  to  the  Emperor,  and  to  ask  for  an  entirely  new  organi¬ 
zation.  The  scheme  prepared  for  this  purpose  was  ready  in 
May,  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-eight,  but  could  not  be  prop¬ 
erly  carried  into  effect,  as  the  ministry  of  finance  declared 
themselves  unable  to  assign  the  necessary  funds.  The  state, 
therefore,  turned  to  the  communes,  the  provincial  estates,  and 
private  persons,  who,  in  accordance  with  a  statute  ratified  by  the 
Emperor  (and  altered  again  on  the  tenth  of  May,  eighteen  hun¬ 
dred  and  sixty),  were  authorized  to  establish  higher  and  lower 
‘  female  gymnasia/  after  the  pattern  of  similar  schools  in  Ger¬ 
many,  each  of  which,  when  established,  should  enjoy  the 
patronage  of  the  Empress.  The  matter,  however  progressed, 
very  slowly,  the  government  giving  a  very  lukewarm  support, 
and  the  communes  and  provincial  diets  being  already  bur¬ 
dened  with  too  many  other  obligations  to  be  able  to  raise 
larger  sums.  Newspapers  and  periodicals  did  all  they  could, 
and  more,  by  discussing  ‘ the  woman’s  question 9  and  the 
problem  ‘  How  to  educate  our  girls/  and  advancing  the  new¬ 
est  and  most  daring  theories  on  this  subject  and  its  ‘  connec¬ 
tion  with  our  general  development/  But,  in  spite  of  all  this, 


1856-1877.]  ALEXANDER  II.  AND  THE  REFORMS. 


255 


the  number  of  newly  established  schools  remained  small.  At 
the  end  of  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-two  there  were  in 
Russia  and  Poland  fifty-five  female  gymnasia  and  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  thirty-one  lower  gymnasia,  with  a  total  of  about 
twenty-five  thousand  female  pupils.  Since  then  no  sta¬ 
tistics  have  been  published;  but  the  regulations  and  direc¬ 
tions  have  become  all  the  more  prolix  and  detailed.  They 
extend  to  the  smallest  minutiae  of  management :  Who  is  to  act 
as  curator,  and  who  as  honorary  curator,  of  each  school ;  who 
is  to  nominate  and  appoint  the  heads  and  teachers  of  the  dif¬ 
ferent  classes ;  what  functions  are  to  be  performed  by  the  con¬ 
ference  of  curators,  composed  of  representatives  of  the  state 
institutes,  and  what  by  the  ‘  Pedagogic  Conference/  conducted 
either  by  the  director  of  schools  in  the  province,  or  the  in¬ 
spector  of  the  ‘  circle/  ”  Nowdiere  in  Europe  has  such  a  vast 
development  been  given  to  the  scientific  education  of  young 
girls,  and  nowhere  have  they  been  given  such  easy  access  to 
liberal  careers,  and  to  government  employments,  such  as  in  the 
telegraph  and  postal  service.  “  In  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty- 
four  the  first  Russian  ladies  were  inscribed  in  the  medical 
faculty  of  the  University  of  Zurich.  In  eighteen  hundred  and 
sixty-eight,  for  the  first  time,  a  woman,  who  had  completed 
her  studies  in  midwifery,  obtained  permission  to  attend  the 
lectures  of  the  Medico-Chirurgical  Faculty  at  Saint  Peters¬ 
burg.  The  incident  created  so  much  sensation,  and  was  re¬ 
ceived  so  favorably  by  the  leaders  of  public  opinion,  that  other 
ladies  soon  followed  suit,  and  seven  years  later  the  female 
medical  students  at  Zurich  could  be  counted  by  dozens,  and 
at  Saint  Petersburg  by  hundreds.  In  eighteen  hundred  and 
seventy-two,  special  courses  for  married  and  unmarried  women 
were  opened  at  the  Medico-Chirurgical  Academy  at  Saint 
Petersburg,  and  more  than  five  hundred  females  attended 
them.  In  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-three  there  were  no 
less  than  seventy-seven  Russian  ladies  studying  medicine  at 
Zurich.  Although  the  right  of  practising  has  not  yet  been 


256 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chip.  IX. 


conceded  to  female  physicians,  there  are  now  at  Saint  Peters¬ 
burg  several  hundreds  of  female  students ;  and  the  example 
thus  set  by  the  capital  has  been  copied  at  the  universities  of 
Moscow,  Kief,  Kharkof,  and  Odessa.”  In  eighteen  hundred 
and  seventy-nine,  sixteen  million  two  hundred  and  thirty  thou¬ 
sand  one  hundred  and  sixteen  rubles  were  devoted  by  the  gov¬ 
ernment  to  public  instruction. 


CHAPTER  X. 


LITERATURE  AND  ART  DURING-  THE  REIGN 
OF  ALEXANDER  THE  SECOND. 

1856-1880. 

The  Natural  and  Realistic  Schools.  —  Influence  of  the  French 
Novelists.  —  The  Historical  Drama  and  Novel. — History. — 
Periodicals.  —  The  Artistic  and  Scientific  Movement. 


THE  NATURAL  AND  REALISTIC  SCHOOLS. 

THE  period  which  followed  the  Crimean  war  was  remark¬ 
able  for  its  literary  activity.  Under  the  stimulus  of 
comparative  freedom  the  press  developed  with  unexampled 
rapidity.  An  earthquake  had  shaken  the  social  edifice  to  the 
ground;  it  seemed  as  though  all  old  things  had  passed  away, 
and  it  was  the  duty  of  the  hour  to  build  anew  with  fresh  ma¬ 
terials  upon  untried  foundations.  A  host  of  writers  filled  the 
periodicals  of  the  day  with  crude  and  extravagant  theories, 
hastily  gathered  from  French,  English,  and  German  philoso¬ 
phy.  Vast  systems  of  improvement,  which  worked  well  on 
paper,  were  devised ;  lofty  ideals,  which  could  never  be  realized, 
were  held  up  for  emulation. 

The  natural  school,  of  which  Turgenief  is  the  chief,  found 
a  wide  field  in  delineating  this  chaotic  state,  in  painting  the 
figures  which  became  typical  of  the  men  of  the  generation  of 
eighteen  hundred  and  forty,  the  enthusiastic  theorizers  who 
excelled  in  planning  and  talking,  but  left  the  real  work  to  be 
done  by  others.  Turgenief’s  “  Rudin  ”  is  the  prototype  of  this 
class  of  “  useless  men.5’  He  speaks  fluently  and  eloquently, 

VOL.  III.  17 


258 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  X. 


blit  the  sound  of  his  voice  is  of  more  consequence  than  the 
clearness  of  the  ideas  which  are  so  abundant.  He  easily  de¬ 
ceives  himself  and  others,  that  hes  is  full  of  the  fire  which 
purifies  and  the  life  which  transforms.  He  proves  how  noble 
and  honorable  a  thing  it  is  to  work  for  others  and  to  be 
unselfish  ;  but  at  heart  he  is  selfish,  a  profound  egotist,  unable 
to  do  more  than  project  great  enterprises.  When  the  test 
comes  he  is  found  to  be  entirely  wanting.  His  theories  of 
self-sacrifice  and  loftiness  of  soul  are  seen  to  be  mere  words. 
He  finally  perishes  without  accomplishing  anything  by  his 
life.  “  He  is  the  sad  product  of  a  sad  social  state/’  Lavret- 
ski,  in  “  A  Nest  of  Noblemen,”  is  another  type  of  the  same 
species.  In  this  novel  Turgenief  describes  also  the  quarrel 
between  the  two  old  parties,  the  Slavophils  and  the  Occiden- 
talists,  revived  by  the  question  of  reforms.  Lavretski  is  a 
mild  type  of  the  Slavophil ;  he  has  a  wide  acquaintance  with 
his  country  and  its  needs ;  he  sees  the  absurdity  of  Panshin’s 
application  of  Western  notions,  gathered  in  his  study,  to  a  peo¬ 
ple  whose  history  and  peculiarities  are  unique. 

In  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-nine  appeared  “  On  the  Eve,” 
which  seems  to  have  been  a  sort  of  prophecy  that  the  country 
was  approaching  a  crisis.  The  “  useless  men,”  the  men  of 
words,  are  supplanted  by  men  of  action.  Rudin  gives  place  to 
Insarof,  more  practical,  a  quiet  worker,  with  less  brilliancy  and 
depth,  but  with  greater  moral  earnestness  than  the  former. 
“  Father  and  Sons,”  published  two  years  later,  shows,  as  its 
name  implies,  the  contrasts  in  society  at  this  time  of  transition. 
Another  type  is  given  to  us  in  Gontcharof’s  great  novel, 
“  Oblomof.”  Obldmof’s  education  has  been  superficial,  his  char¬ 
acter  is  weak  and  devoid  of  energy,  consequently  his  normal 
state  is  that  of  an  invalid ;  he  rarely  leaves  his  chamber,  he 
delights  in  his  luxurious  laziness,  in  his  apathetic  weariness. 
His  friends  try  to  stir  him  from  his  indolence,  but  their  efforts 
are  vain.  At  last  he  is  aroused  by  a  young  girl.  “  Olga  is  the 
most  beautiful  ideal  which  an  artist  could  gather  from  con- 


1856-1880.] 


LITERxYTURE  AND  ART. 


259 


temporary  life  in  Russia.  The  elevation  and  breadth  of  her 
mind,  the  admirable  harmony  between  her  will  and  her  heart, 
are  so  striking  that  the  reader  is  disposed  to  doubt  the  po¬ 
etic  truth  of  the  picture,  and  to  deny  that  such  a  young  girl 
could  exist.  But  as  you  study  her  character  throughout  the 
book  you  find  that  she  is  always  consistent ;  she  is  not  a  mere 
conception  of  the  author’s  imagination,  but  rather  a  real  per¬ 
son  whom  we  have  not  yet  been  fortunate  enough  to  meet. 
It  is  she  rather  than  Stolz  who  is  the  ideal  of  the  new  Russian 
life;  from  her  we  expect  the  revivifying  word  which  is  to 
awaken  and  inspire  Oblomof.”  Obldmof  allows  her  influence 
to  control  him,  and  for  a  time  emerges  from  his  apathy,  but 
when  the  question  arises  of  marriage  with  Olga,  and  he  con¬ 
siders  all  the  duties,  the  cares  and  responsibilities  which  will 
devolve  upon  him,  he  sinks  back  into  his  former  state.  Olga 
marries  his  friend  Stolz,  who  is  his  complete  opposite,  a  man 
of  energy,  iron  will,  and  fully  developed  life. 

Rudinism  and  Oblomovism  were  two  of  the  chief  maladies 
of  the  time,  and  the  difference  between  their  two  types  is  the 
difference  between  Turgenief  and  Gontcharof.  “  Turgenief  is 
above  all  the  painter  of  the  mind,  Gontcharof  of  the  heart. 
Turgenief’s  characters  are  full  of  life ;  they  develop  every  in¬ 
stant  by  their  contact  with  the  world.  Gontcharof  simply 
makes  pictures ;  his  portraits  are  marvellous  for  their  finish 
and  delicacy  of  design,  but  they  are  too  abstract,  too  far  re¬ 
moved  from  real  life ;  they  lack  animation  and  movement.” 

While  Pisemski  is  inferior  to  Turgenief  in  skill  of  psycho¬ 
logic  analysis,  and  to  Gontcharof  in  the  artistic  development  of 
details,  he  holds  a  high  place  in  the  literary  history  of  Russia. 
His  characteristics  are  brilliancy  and  strength,  a  power  in 
devising  dramatic  situations,  a  poetic  appreciation  of  the  life 
of  the  time,  absolute  freedom  from  artificiality,  and  faithful¬ 
ness  to  his  ideal  of  truth.  In  the  best  of  his  romances,  the 
“  Thousand  Souls,”  published  in  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty- 
eight,  Pisemski  struck  a  fuller  chord  than  in  his  earlier  novels, 


260 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  X. 


which  were  barely  freed  from  the  influence  of  Gogol.  He 
brings  out  vividly  the  lack  of  individuality,  the  mental  paraly¬ 
sis,  the  many  sides  of  incapacity  which  were  a  result  of  the 
cankerous  disease  of  slavery.  Kalinovitch,  the  hero,  has  all  the 
vices  of  the  age.  He  is  winning  in  his  manners,  but  at  heart 
egotistic,  selfish,  ambitious,  venal.  He  is  resolved  to  have 
honors  and  wealth  at  any  price,  and  to  attain  his  end  he  ruth¬ 
lessly  sacrifices  the  love  of  Nastasia,  who  has  left  everything 
to  nurse  him  through  illness ;  and  by  marrying  the  immoral 
and  deformed  daughter  of  a  wealthy  old  general’s  widow,  the 
owner  of  a  thousand  serfs,  he  gratifies  his  ambition.  He  con¬ 
stantly  advances  in  political  position,  until  finally  he  becomes 
governor  of  the  province  where  he  had  begun  his  career  as 
director  of  the  gymnasium.  With  all  the  energy  of  his  char¬ 
acter  he  now  declares  a  pitiless  war  upon  the  officials  whom 
he  finds  guilty  of  peculation  or  of  accepting  bribes.  He  tries 
to  forget  his  moral  suffering,  his  own  faithlessness  to  a  higher 
ideal,  in  his  absolute  justice,  his  unwavering  severity  to  all 
offenders.  His  official  acts  bring  upon  him  the  hatred  of  the 
community  ;  his  wife  turns  against  him  ;  he  is  removed  from 
office,  when  he  is  abandoned  by  all.  Nastasia  again  comes 
to  his  aid,  and  upon  the  suicide  of  his  wife  marries  him,  “  be¬ 
cause  she  was  the  only  thing  left  to  him  in  this  world,  and 
because  it  was  her  duty  to  sustain  and  cherish  the  life  of  this 
great  mind,  —  a  wreck,  but  still  precious.” 

Pisemski,  in  a  “  Thousand  Souls,”  gives  an  accurate  picture 
of  the  new  type  of  officials  who  made  their  appearance  at  the 
time  of  the  reforms.  Kalinovitch  has  the  faults  of  the  age 
which  is  going  by,  but  he  has  also  the  characteristics  of  the 
new  era  about  to  be  inaugurated.  The  vices  and  qualities 
natural  to  a  period  of  transition  are  thus  seen  in  the  same  per¬ 
son.  The  contrasts  and  contradictions  of  his  life  are  well  sus¬ 
tained  by  the  author. 

Besides  the  writers  whom  we  have  mentioned,  and  Dostoi- 
evski,  the  painter  and  historian,  par  excellence ,  of  the  /ictim* 


1856-1880.] 


LITERATURE  AND  ART. 


261 


of  fate  and  social  oppression,  and  who  published  his  novel, 
“  The  Downtrodden  and  Oppressed,”  in  eighteen  hundred 
and  sixty-one,  we  may  mention,  among  the  writers  of  the 
natural  school,  Kokaref,  whose  sketches  and  tales  are  inter¬ 
esting  as  autobiography ;  Madame  Zhadovska,  author  of  “  Ear 
from  the  Great  World  ” ;  and  a  lady  who,  under  the  pseudonyme 
of  Marko  Vovtchok,  published  a  series  of  Little  Russian  tales 
which  Turgenief  translated.  Her  specialty  is  the  life  of  the 
Russian  peasants  and  serfs,  and  the  manners  and  customs  of 
the  small  proprietors.  “  Marko  Vovtchok  seems  to  listen  to 
the  still  distant  murmur  of  the  future  life  of  the  people ;  her 
writings  breathe,  as  it  were,  a  perfume  of  Russia,  by  offering 
images  familiar  and  precious  to  every  Russian,  expressed  in 
a  style  thoroughly  national  and  popular.”  “  Masha,”  “  Igru- 
shetchka,”  and  “  Iekaterina  ”  are  among  the  best  known  of  her 
works. 

The  first  few  years  of  Alexander’s  reign,  and  the  changes 
which  they  introduced,  stimulated  the  satiric  spirit ;  its  prin¬ 
cipal  exponents  were  Andrei  Petcherski  and  the  formidable 
Shtchedrin.  Petcherski’s  light  tales,  “The  Bear’s  Lair”  and 
“  Bygone  Years,”  enjoyed  great  popularity.  Saltuikof  was  a 
provincial  governor  and  privy  councillor,  who,  under  the  pseu¬ 
donyme,  Shtchedrin,  in  his  “  Provincial  Sketches  ”  and  his 
“Prose  Satires”  makes  an  especial  study  of  the  officials  and 
their  surroundings,  of  their  tendency  to  exaggerate  trifles  and 
to  insist  on  routine.  He  uses  a  whip  of  serpents  in  his  attacks 
on  the  foibles  of  society.  Sometimes  his  wit  and  satire  are 
inartistic  and  incomplete,  but  his  characters  are  generally  care¬ 
ful  and  exact  types  belonging  to  an  interesting  and  peculiar 
age. 

The  dramatic  literature  of  this  period  counts  three  principal 
names,  —  Ostrovski,  Potiekhin,  and  Pisemski.  Ostrovski  wrote, 
in  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-eight,  “  The  Lucrative  Place,” 
treating  nearly  the  same  subject  as  Pisemski  in  his  “  Thou¬ 
sand  Souls  ” ;  in  “  The  Storm  ”  he  gives  a  vivid  picture  of 


262 


HISTORY  OP  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  X. 


family  despotism  among  the  merchant  class.  “  Ostrovski’s 
talent  lies  in  his  deep  knowledge  of  the  soul,  and  his  skill  in 
opening  and  exposing  the  human  side  of  every  individual 
apart  from  the  social  position  which  he  occupies.”  Potiekhin 
is  far  inferior  to  Ostrovski.  Pustozerof,  the  artificial  and 
thoroughly  disagreeable  hero  of  “  Tinsel,”  is  an  official  of  almost 
superhuman  disinterestedness,  who  scorns  any  one  devoid  of 
this  virtue,  though  he  may  possess  all  the  others.  Potiekhin’s 
unfamiliarity  with  the  stage  makes  his  characters  too  much 
like  puppets,  although  the  separate  scenes  are  managed  with 
some  skill.  Pisemski  wrote,  besides  his  novels,  a  powerful 
drama,  “  The  Bitter  Destiny,”  which  gives  also  a  vivid  pic¬ 
ture  of  the  unhappy  relations  existing  between  the  proprie¬ 
tors  and  their  serfs.  The  success  of  these  dramatic  and 
romantic  pictures  of  contemporary  society  stimulated  a  host 
of  imitators,  among  whom  may  be  mentioned  Slavutinski, 
Diakonof,  the  author  of  “  The  Prosecutors,”  Count  Sollohub, 
and  others. 

The  Emancipation  divides  the  literary  history  of  Alexander’s 
reign  into  two  distinct  epochs.  The  first,  as  we  have  seen,  was 
a  period  of  transition  and  of  sudden  awakening.  The  natural 
school  took  upon  itself  to  show  the  insufficiency  of  the  old 
generation  to  grasp  the  new  order  of  things.  But  now  the 
great  act  which  liberated  twenty-three  million  serfs  was  ac¬ 
complished,  and  a  hundred  questions  of  reform  were  elevated 
into  the  region  of  reality.  Such  a  complete  overturn  neces¬ 
sarily  had  a  tremendous  effect  upon  the  minds  of  those  in 
whose  midst  it  occurred.  The  nation  may  be  said  to  have 
grouped  itself  into  hostile  camps  :  there  were  the  retrogrades 
and  conservatives,  who  were  startled  by  the  changes  taking 
place,  and  saw  before  them  only  danger  and  disaster ;  who 
remembered  the  revolutions  which  had  deluged  Prance  with 
blood,  and  who  predicted  the  same  fate  for  Russia ;  who  saw 
in  the  agitators  opposed  to  them  only  Nihilists  disposed  to 
reject  all  authority  in  religion,  in  morals,  in  politics,  in  the 


1856-1880.] 


LITERATURE  AND  ART. 


263 


arts  and  sciences.  The  Liberals,  on  the  other  hand,  felt  that 
what  had  been  done  was  incomplete  and  faulty.  They  wished 
the  new  laws  to  be  applied  in  their  integrity,  without  being 
warped  to  suit  old  exigencies.  When  the  reaction  came,  many 
of  them  joined  the  Nihilists,  who  demanded  that  the  serfs 
should  not  only  be  freed,  but  put  on  a  basis  of  equality  with 
the  more  favored  of  the  land,  that  all  class  distinctions  should 
be  abolished,  and  that  the  most  liberal  institutions  should  be 
given  them.  Herzen  defined  Nihilism  as  the  most  perfect 
freedom  from  all  settled  concepts,  from  all  inherited  restraints 
and  the  historical  impediments  which  hamper  the  progress  of 
the  Western  intellect.  Tchernishevski,  whose  romance  “What 
is  to  be  Done  ?  ”  was  forbidden  by  the  censor,  was  the  first  to 
make  Nihilism  popular.  It  was  not  strange  that  the  younger 
generation,  the  students  in  the  universities  and  the  hot-headed 
enthusiasts  of  the  intellectual  centres,  should  sometimes  carry 
this  doctrine  to  extremes.  Nor  was  it  strange  that  the  lead¬ 
ers  of  the  natural  school,  seeing  the  confusion  and  turmoil, 
should  show  themselves  hesitating,  sometimes  even  hostile, 
because  they  comprehended  only  the  exaggerated  side  of  the 
new  tendencies. 

Turgenief,  in  his  novel,  “  Smoke,”  published  in  eighteen 
hundred  and  sixty-seven,  paints  the  monstrous  evils  of  this 
spirit  of  negation.  He  shows  how  all  the  “  reforms,  the  dis¬ 
cussions,  the  theories,  the  opinions,  the  progress  of  the  Rus¬ 
sian  people,  the  Russian  life  itself,  is  only  smoke.”  The 
author  was  vigorously  assailed  by  the  critics ;  he  was  charged 
with  attacking  his  country  and  with  caricaturing  the  younger 
generation,  which  he  was  unable  to  understand  and  appre¬ 
ciate. 

“  If  Turgenief  is  superior  to  Pisemski  in  the  variety  and 
perfection  of  his  types,  in  the  analysis  of  the  human  heart  and 
in  beauty  of  design,  Pisemski,  on  the  other  hand,  excels  in  the 
power  of  vigorously  presenting  nature  and  life,  which  some¬ 
times  causes  his  creations  to  be  as  repulsive  as  the  reality 


264 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  X. 


itself/'  In  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-three  he  published  his 
“  Troubled  Sea,”  in  which  he  makes  a  study  of  the  disgusting 
and  comic  side  of  Nihilism,  showing  the  grossness  and  sensu¬ 
ality,  the  low  materialism  of  the  men  who  scorn  morality  and 
religion,  and  believe  that  marriage  is  only  a  social  contract  to 
be  made  and  broken  at  pleasure.  Pisemski  may  have  felt 
that  he  went  too  far,  for  in  his  next  novel,  “  The  Men  of 
Eighteen  Hundred  and  Forty,”  he  gives  a  picture  of  a  bygone 
age ;  but  when  this  failed  to  be  appreciated  as  it  deserved,  he 
came  back  to  the  subject  of  Nihilism,  and  wrote,  in  eighteen 
hundred  and  seventy -two,  a  new  romance,  “  In  the  Vortex,” 
and  in  the  following  year  two  comedies,  “  The  Mines  ”  and 
“  Baal.” 

Besides  Dostoievsky  who  wrote  the  remarkable  psychologi¬ 
cal  studies,  “  Crime  and  Punishment  ”  and  “  Mauvais  Esprit,” 
and  Gontcharof,  who  likewise  painted  the  social  effects  of 
Nihilism  in  the  blackest  colors  in  “The  Abyss,”  we  find  other 
followers  of  the  natural  school  taking  the  same  desperate  view. 
“  Marevo,”  by  Kliutchnikof ;  “No  Issue,”  by  Stebnitski,  who 
gives  the  history  of  a  young  Nihilist,  Liza  Bukharef,  and  a 
Socialist,  Rainer ;  and  the  many  romances  of  Madame  Khvot- 
chinski,  better  known  by  her  pseudonyme  of  Krestovski, — 
all  take  the  different  phases  of  the  modern  spirit,  and  treat  it 
either  with  open  ridicule  or  with  an  overdrawn  fidelity  which 
approaches  caricature. 

The  natural  reaction  against  a  one-sided  treatment  of  a  sub¬ 
ject  brought  to  the  front  a  new  school  of  writers,  who  espe¬ 
cially  devoted  themselves  to  faithful  realistic  descriptions  of 
the  lower  orders  of  society.  By  their  very  wish  to  fill  the 
void  left  by  the  natural  school  they  have  gone  to  the  other 
extreme,  and  have  often  indulged  in  disagreeable  exaggera¬ 
tions.  The  leading  exponent  of  this  “  literature  of  the  mu¬ 
zhik  ”  ’  is  Reshetnikof,  whose  great  novel,  “  Podlipovtsui,”  gives 
a  striking  picture  of  the  burlaki ,  or  rough  sailors  of  the  Volga. 
His  favorite  themes  are  poverty,  wretchedness,  and  the  brutal- 


1866  -  1880.] 


LITERATURE  AND  ART. 


265 


ity  of  ignorance.  The  other  writers  of  this  realistic  school  are 
Uspienski,  who  wrote  “  The  Ruin  ”  and  other  stories,  and 
delights  in  the  more  jovial  side  of  the  peasant  life ;  Pomia- 
lovski,  whose  “  Molotof,”  “  Brother  and  Sister,”  and  “  Mikha'i- 
lof,”  partly  autobiographical,  and  written  in  a  rough,  desultory 
style,  show  the  influence  of  Dostoievski ;  Sleptsof,  author  of 
“  Hard  Times  ” ;  Avdieef,  who  wrote  “  Between  Two  Fires,” 
and  others.  Had  Reshetnikof  not  died  at  the  early  age  of 
twenty-nine,  and  had  he  fulfilled  the  promise  of  his  youth,  it 
might  have  been  that  he  would  have  settled  definitely  the  laws 
of  the  new  school  of  realism.  Unhappily  it  “  has  neither  au¬ 
thorities  nor  principles,  nor  a  definite  path.  Between  the  field 
preferred  by  the  natural  writers  and  that  chosen  by  the  realis¬ 
tic  writers,  there  is  an  immense  void  which  no  one  has  as  yet 
attempted  to  fill.  Turgenief  seems  to  have  come  near  it  in  his 
‘Panin  and  Baburin/  But  is  the  union  of  the  two  schools 
possible  P  That  is  a  question  to  be  answered  by  the  writers 
of  the  future.” 

INFLUENCE  OF  THE  FRENCH  NOVELISTS.  -  THE  HIS¬ 
TORIC  DRAMA  AND  NOVEL. 

While  George  Eliot,  Dickens,  and  Thackeray  have  had  great 
influence  upon  the  literature  of  Russia,  it  is  a  curious  fact  that 
Victor  Hugo,  Eugene  Sue,  and  Dumas  have  found  imitators 
only  among  an  inferior  order  of  writers.  Another  Krestovski, 
an  officer  of  the  army,  in  his  “  Mysteries  of  Saint  Petersburg,” 
had  a  considerable  success ;  but  when  he  persisted  in  disre¬ 
garding  the  advice  of  his  critics,  and  published  “The  Troops  of 
Panurges,”  it  was  found  that  he  had  reproduced  the  faults  and 
not  the  excellences  of  the  former.  His  last  novel,  “  The  Out¬ 
law,”  published  in  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-three,  is  the 
greatest  failure  of  all,  and  “  marks  the  complete  decadence  of 
his  powers.”  Boborikin,  in  “  On  the  Road,”  “  Dr.  Tsuibulka,” 
and  other  stories,  shows  much  wit  and  imagination,  but  is 


266 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  X. 


lacking  in  seriousness  and  depth.  Averkief,  Avsienko,  and 
Markievitch  have  written  several  romances  for  the  Busski 
Viestnik ,  but  they  deserve  only  faint  praise. 

Although  the  society  novel  has  thus  far  been  preferred  by 
Russian  authors,  yet  the  department  of  the  historical  romance 
and  drama  has  by  no  means  been  neglected.  Count  Alexei 
Tolstoi  wrote  “  Prince  Serebrianui  ”  and  the  celebrated  drama, 
“  The  Death  of  Ivan  the  Terrible,”  both  of  which  give  vivid 
pictures  of  the  time  of  Ivan  the  Pourtli.  His  other  dramatic 
works,  “  The  Tsar  Teodor  Ivanovitch  ”  and  “  The  Tsar  Boris,” 
form,  with  the  latter,  a  sort  of  historical  trilogy.  The  first  is, 
by  all  odds,  the  greatest.  Count  Leof  Tolstoi  added  to  the 
literature  of  the  Napoleonic  war  of  eighteen  hundred  and 
twelve  his  immense  romance,  in  five  volumes,  entitled  “  War 
and  Peace,”  which  is  considered  one  of  the  masterpieces  of 
Russian  literature.  The  work  is  divided  into  two  distinct 
parts ;  and  although  a  multitude  of  characters  appear  upon  the 
scene,  there  is  no  confusion  or  lack  of  clearness.  Count  Sah- 
lias,  in  his  “  Partisans  of  Pugatchef,”  imitates  the  methods 
of  Alexei  Tolstoi,  but  is  far  inferior  to  his  model. 

Russian  history  is  remarkably  rich  in  dramatic  episodes, 
and  many  of  these  have  been  seized  upon  by  the  Slavophil 
authors  and  made  the  subjects  of  historical  plays.  Yet,  as 
Courriere  justly  observes,  “  Russia  has  not  yet  found  its  Cor¬ 
neille,  its  Shakspere,  or  its  Schiller.  The  dramatic  writers, 
borrowing  Pushkin’s  Shaksperian  methods,  endeavor  to  bring 
out  the  leading  figure  in  the  most  vivid  light.  The  character 
of  the  hero  is  shown  even  in  its  slightest  psychological  details, 
hence  the  other  dramatis  persona  are  sacrificed  and  obliged 
to  keep  in  the  shade  like  modest  satellites  around  a  brilliant 
sun.  The  action  suffers,  the  plot  is  of  no  account,  scenic 
effects  are  wholly  wanting,  the  issue  of  the  drama  is  foreseen 
and  excites  no  interest,  —  there  is  no  illusion.  Speeches, 
monologues,  and  conversations,  smacking  of  bombast  and  rhet¬ 
oric,  take  the  place  of  all  this.”  Mei  wrote  “  The  Bride  of  the 


COUNT  LLOF  TOLSTOI 


1856-1880.] 


LITERATURE  AND  ART. 


267 


Tsar  ”  and  “  The  Lady  of  Pskof,”  but  his  own  productions  are 
not  equal  to  his  translations  of  the  ancient  Folk  Songs,  such  as 
the  “  Tale  of  the  Troops  of  Igor,”  which  are  noticeable  for 
their  grace  and  artistic  beauty.  “  Kozma  Minin,”  “  The 
Voievod,”  “  Tush  mo,”  and  “The  False  Dmitri  and  Vasili 
Shu'iski  ”  are  Ostrovski’s  principal  historical  plays.  The  last 
mentioned  is  the  best.  “  The  subject  of  the  play  is  full  of 
grandeur.  The  scenes  are  truly  dramatic.  The  characters  of 
the  False  Dmitri  and  of  Shuiski  are  well  portrayed.  But 
Ostrovski  confines  himself  too  closely  to  the  domain  of  facts.” 
His  plays  are  apt  to  be  long  and  monotonous.  Ostrovski 
and  Tolstoi  found  an  imitator  in  Averkief,  who  in  eighteen 
hundred  and  seventy-two  wrote  “  Bygone  Days  at  Kashira,” 
representing  society  in  the  latter  half  of  the  seventeenth  cen¬ 
tury.  The  success  of  this  drama  at  Moscow  was  immediate 
and  complete ;  at  Saint  Petersburg  it  was  not  so  well  received. 
“Vasili  the  Blind  and  Prince  Shemiaka,”  by  the  same  author, 
did  not  enhance  his  reputation. 

The  Crimean  war  and  the  abolition  of  serfage  did  not  seem 
to  inspire  the  Russian  muse  to  very  lofty  heights.  Between 
eighteen  hundred  and  fifty  and  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty 
the  public  read  with  interest  the  satiric  verses  of  Shtchedrin, 
Nekrasof,  Pisemski,  and  Minaiif.  Maikof  wrote  the  “  Council 
of  Clermont,”  which  relates  the  sufferings  of  the  Eastern 
Christians.  But  his  poems  are  chiefly  lyrical.  Fet  is  one  of 
the  chief  representatives  of  what  may  be  called  “  the  school  of 
Heine.”  He  delights  in  picturing  the  soul  weary  of  life  and 
pleasure-seeking,  and  he  varies  his  theme  with  celebrating  the 
azure  of  the  sky,  the  voice  of  the  waves,  and  the  dreamy  eyes 
of  the  young  maiden.  Pleshtcheef,  Polonski,  and  Madame 
Zhadovska  belong  to  the  same  lyric  school.  Polonski  is  de¬ 
voted  to  dreamy  sadness.  “  Under  a  sombre  and  fantastic 
coloring,  his  verse,  which  is  timid  and  sometimes  even  rough 
and  inharmonious,  nevertheless  reveals  an  exquisite  apprecia¬ 
tion  of  the  life  of  nature.” 


26  8 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  X. 


Benediktof,  who  is  considered  to  be  a  follower  of  Derzha¬ 
vin,  is  a  poet  who  delights  in  singing  of  justice,  disinterested¬ 
ness,  and  patriotism.  His  poems,  however,  have  been  scarcely 
more  popular  than  those  of  Madame  Zhadovska,  which  have 
a  certain  merit  of  simplicity  and  naturalness.  “  Her  favorite 
themes  are  a  dreamy  contemplation  of  nature,  solitude,  and  the 
memories  of  a  brilliant  and  happy  past  forever  gone  from 
sight.”  Rosenheim,  Shevtchenko,  the  patriotic  poet  of  Little 
Russia,  and  Nikitin,  the  postilion  lyrist,  the  poet-laureate  of 
poverty,  are  names  which  have  a  certain  reputation. 

HISTORY. 

In  the  field  of  history  proper,  great  activity  has  been  shown, 
partly  owing  to  Karamsin  and  partly  to  the  struggle  between 
the  Slavophils  and  the  Occidentalists.  In  eighteen  hundred 
and  thirty-four  the  government  founded  the  Archseological 
Commission,  which  was  charged  to  examine  and  publish  an¬ 
cient  chronicles  and  documents.  A  short  time  after,  the  His¬ 
torical  and  Antiquarian  Society  of  Moscow  began  to  publish 
historical  collections.  The  Academy  of  Sciences  instituted  the 
Archaeografic  Commission.  These  societies  were  emulated  by 
similar  ones  in  Yilna,  Kief,  Odessa,  and  other  cities.  The  sub¬ 
ject  has  been  still  further  stimulated  by  reviews  devoted  to  the 
publication  of  historical  documents  :  RussJci  Arhhiv ,  edited 
by  Bartenief,  the  RussMa  Starina ,  “  Ancient  Russia,”  and 
the  “  Collections  of  the  Imperial  Society  of  Russian  History,” 
started  in  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-seven.  The  three 
great  names  in  this  department  are  Pogodin,  Kostomorof,  and 
Solovief.  Pogodin,  a  pupil  of  Karamsin,  makes  history  a  true 
science.  His  “  Critico-historical  Sketches  ”  are  devoted  to  the 
Russia  of  the  Middle  Ages.  His  last  work,  “  Russia  up  to 
the  Invasion  of  the  Tatars,”  shows  a  deep  study  of  the  ancient 
chronicles,  and  contains  many  curious  and  interesting  facts 
about  the  life  of  the  Slavs  at  the  time  of  the  Grand  Princes. 
Pogodin  took  an  active  part  in  the  controversy  about  the  au- 


1856-1880.] 


LITERATURE  AND  ART. 


269 


thenticity  of  “  The  Chronicle  of  Nestor/’  which  was  attacked  by 
Katchenovski,  the  editor  of  the  ViestniJc  Evropui ,  Kostomarof, 
and  Ilovaiski,  who  tried  to  prove  that  the  Variagi  were  not  Scan¬ 
dinavians.  Kostomarof  has  published  many  historical  works, 
among  which  may  be  mentioned  his  “  Historical  Monographs 
and  Researches/’  “  History  of  the  Rail  of  Poland,”  “  History  of 
Russia  in  Biographies.”  His  “Bogdan  Khmielnitski,”  his  ac¬ 
count  of  the  “  Revolt  of  Stenka  Razin,”  and  his  “  Studies  of 
the  Nationalities  of  Northern  Russia  ”  prove  him  to  be  a  care¬ 
ful  and  conscientious  historian.  Solovief,  called  the  Augustin 
Thierry  of  Russia,  has  left  behind  him  a  prodigious  monument 
to  his  painstaking  researches  in  his  “  History  of  Russia  from 
the  Earliest  Times,”  which  at  the  time  of  his  death  had 
reached  as  far  as  the  reign  of  Catherine  the  Second,  in  twenty- 
six  volumes.  Ustrialof,  besides  a  “  History  of  the  False  Dmi¬ 
tri  ”  and  the  “  Tales  of  Prince  Kurbski,”  published  a  “  Life  of 
Peter  the  Great,”  in  the  preparation  of  which  he  was  allowed 
to  study  the  secret  archives  of  the  European  capitals.  He 
wrote  also  a  History  of  Russia  in  two  volumes,  bringing  it 
down  to  the  Crimean  war.  Zabielin  in  his  “  Private  Life 
of  the  Tsars,  Tsaritsas,  and  the  Russian  People  in  the  Six¬ 
teenth  and  Seventeenth  Centuries,”  Bogdanovitch  in  his  “  Cam¬ 
paigns  of  Suvarof,”  his  “  History  of  Alexander  the  First,” 
and  his  “  History  of  the  War  in  the  East,”  and  Miliutin  in  his 
“Campaign  of  Seventeen  Hundred  and  Ninety-nine”  (which 
was  also  written  by  Mikhailovski-Danilev),  have  made  them¬ 
selves  authorities  by  their  accuracy  and  fairness.  We  may 
mention,  further,  Pekarski’s  “  Science  and  Literature  under 
Peter  the  Great,”  which  gives  the  nomenclature  of  five  hun¬ 
dred  and  ninety-one  works,  and  Puipin’s  “  Progress  of  Ideas 
under  Alexander  the  First.”  Shtchebalski  has  published  a 
monograph  upon  the  Princess  Sophia,  and  Semevski  upon  the 
Mons  family,  which  was  intimately  connected  with  Peter  the 
Great.  The  epoch  of  Alexander  the  First  was  further  illus¬ 
trated  by  Baron  Korf ’s  “  Biography  of  Count  Speranski,” 


270 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  X. 


Kovalevski’s  “Bludof  and  his  Time,”  and  by  the  works  of 
Popof.  Bantuish-Kamenski,  whose  “  Dictionary  of  Celebrated 
Russians  ”  was  well  known,  added  another  remarkable  series 
in  his  “  Biographies  of  the  Russian  Generals  and  Field 
Marshals.” 

The  Russian  professors  have  paid  especial  attention  to  the 
antiquities  and  mythology  of  the  Eastern  Slavs.  Sreznievski 
made  a  study  of  the  heathen  forms  of  worship ;  Kotlarevski 
became  famous  by  his  book  on  the  “  Funeral  Rites  among  the 
Pagan  Slavs  ” ;  Afanasief  left  a  thorough  monograph  on  the 
poetic  ideas  of  the  Slavs  regarding  nature.  Tales,  legends, 
superstitions,  and  popular  songs  have  been  collected  by  Terest- 
chenko,  Iakushkin,  Sakharof,  Kirieevski,  Ruibnikof,  Shein, 
Bezsonof,  Miller,  and  others.  Frehn,  Savelief,  Kunik,  and 
Schubert  have  made  studies  of  numismatics.  Annitchkof  and 
Todleben  have  described  the  siege  of  Sevastopol,  while  Gen¬ 
eral  Fadeief  and  Colonel  Obrutchef  have  published  valuable 
statistical  works  on  the  military  resources  of  the  country. 
Prince  Galitsuin  has  published  several  parts  of  a  “  Universal 
Military  History,”  which  have  received  much  praise. 

Historical  studies  have  not  been  confined  to  Russian  topics. 
Kudriavtsef,  who  died  in  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-eight,  left 
a  remarkable  study  of  the  “  History  of  Italy  until  the  Time  of 
Charlemagne”;  Leontief  and  Babst  wrote  upon  ancient  Greece, 
Eshevski  upon  the  Middle  Ages,  Vuizinski  upon  the  Papacy 
and  English  history.  Nor  has  the  history  of  Russian  litera¬ 
ture  and  language  been  neglected.  Sukhomlikhof,  Lavrovski, 
Bishop  Makari,  and  Archbishop  Philaret  have  written  on  the 
chronicles  and  sacred  literature  of  Russia.  Dobroliubof  made 
his  ddbut  as  a  critic  in  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-six,  and 
wrote  continuously  for  five  years.  He  is  remarkable  for  the 
clearness  and  simplicity  of  his  views,  and  his  keen  logic. 
Buslaief’ s  “  Historical  Grammar  of  the  Russian  Language  ” 
deserves  to  be  mentioned  for  its  knowledge  of  the  dialects  of 
Russia  and  the  ancient  monuments  of  its  literature.  Hilfer- 


1856-1880.] 


LITERATURE  AND  ART. 


271 


ding  wrote  “  Letters  on  the  History  of  the  Serbs  and  Slavs  of 
the  Baltic.”  Galakhof,  Kuraulof,  and  Vodovozof  have  also 
published  works  of  merit  on  Russian  literature. 

PERIODICALS. 

The  development  of  the  daily  press  in  Russia  began  with 
the  reign  of  Alexander.  Herzen,  the  illegitimate  son  of  a 
Muscovite  noble,  Ivan  Zhakovlef,  who  left  him  at  his  death  a 
fortune  of  half  a  million  rubles,  had  established  at  London 
a  free  press  and  an  organ  of  liberalism,  the  Kolokol ,  which 
published  an  address  to  the  new  Emperor,  demanding  from 
the  son  of  Nicholas  atonement  for  the  misery  which  his  father 
had  brought  on  an  entire  people,  a  complete  breach  with  the 
ruthless  system  of  universal  servitude  and  recklessness,  accord¬ 
ance  with  the  liberal  ideas  of  the  time,  and  above  all  the  im¬ 
mediate  abolition  of  serfdom  as  an  earnest  of  future  agreement 
between  people  and  ruler.  Herzen  expressed  the  ideas  which 
had  been  vaguely  in  the  minds  of  thousands.  His  utterances 
struck  the  chords  of  popularity,  and  he  immediately  became  as 
absolute  a  ruler  in  Russia  as  the  autocratic  Tsar.  The  Kolo¬ 
kol ,  though  prohibited,  found  its  way  across  the  boundaries, 
and  was  read  in  the  palace  and  in  the  izba  of  the  peasant.  In 
eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-nine,  at  the  great  Iarmarka  of 
Nijni-Novgorod,  the  police  seized  one  hundred  thousand 
copies  which  were  introduced  by  the  way  of  Asia.  The  Kolo¬ 
kol  published  correspondence  from  all  parts  of  Russia.  State 
secrets  were  divulged ;  the  names  of  political  prisoners  con¬ 
fined  in  the  dungeons  of  Schlusselburg  and  the  mines  of 
Siberia  were  printed,  with  the  numbers  by  which  they  were 
known  to  their  keepers  alone.  The  misdeeds  of  the  pettiest 
officials,  as  well  as  those  of  higher  rank,  were  made  public ; 
nothing  escaped  the  vigilance  of  the  agents  of  this  enterprising 
refugee.  The  government  organs  were  notorious  for  their 
dulness  and  insipidity.  In  self-defence  the  censorship  was 


272 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  X. 


relaxed,  and  private  enterprise  was  allowed  to  establish  new 
journals.  In  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty  there  were  only 
seventy-three  periodicals  of  any  kind ;  in  eighteen  hundred  and 
fifty  there  were,  perhaps,  double  this  number;  but  between 
eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-eight  and  eighteen  hundred  and 
sixty,  fifty  large  journals  sprang  into  existence  in  Saint  Peters¬ 
burg  alone,  seventeen  in  Moscow,  and  ten  in  the  provinces. 
Liberality  became  the  popular  notion.  Everybody  rushed 
into  print.  The  periodicals  were  filled  with  translations  from 
all  the  foreign  political  and  economical  works  which  had  ap¬ 
peared  in  the  last  half-century.  Hobbes,  Darwin,  Jeremy 
Bentham,  Buckle,  John  Stuart  Mill,  Vogt  and  Ruge,  and  Louis 
Blanc  became  household  names.  There  are  at  present  to  be 
counted  in  Russia  about  five  hundred  journals,  of  which  four 
hundred  are  in  the  Russian  language.  The  two  chief  repre¬ 
sentatives  of  the  daily  press  are  the  Golos,  or  the  “Voice,” 
and  the  Moscow  Gazette.  The  Golos,  under  the  management 
of  Kraievski,  has  the  largest  circulation.  It  favored  the  with¬ 
drawal  of  the  five  hundred  million  of  paper  rubles  issued  dur¬ 
ing  the  Crimean  war,  and  a  return  to  a  solid  specie  basis.  The 
Moscow  Gazette  has  taken  opposite  views.  In  eighteen  hun¬ 
dred  and  sixty-three  it  ceased  to  belong  to  the  university,  and 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  valiant  Slavophil,  Mikhail  Kat- 
kof,  and  became  the  organ  of  the  landed  proprietors  of  the 
interior.  It  has  had  a  great  influence  over  government  coun¬ 
cils,  and  counted  among  its  contributors  many  officials, — Mili- 
utin,  Muravief,  and  others.  The  Russian  World,  at  one  time 
edited  by  Kostomarof,  has  published  General  Fadeief’s  plans 
for  reforming  the  organization  of  the  Russian  army,  and  his 
criticisms  upon  the  division  of  the  country  into  great  military 
commands.  The  Invalide ,  the  official  organ  of  the  war  min¬ 
ister,  replied  with  some  acerbity.  Other  dailies  published  in 
Saint  Petersburg  are  the  Saint  Petersburg  Gazette,  devoted  to 
the  Slav  interests,  the  Banking  Gazette,  which  expressed  its 
sympathy  for  Prance  in  the  war  of  eighteen  hundred  and 


1*56  - 1880.] 


LITERATURE  AND  ART. 


273 


seventy  and  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-one,  and  the  Novoe 
Vremia ,  conducted  somewhat  upon  the  principles  of  the  Paris 
Figaro ,  and  having  the  same  circulation  as  the  Golos. 

The  most  important  of  the  reviews  which  have  a  general  in¬ 
terest  is  the  Viestnik  JEvropui,  or  “European  Messenger/5  with 
a  circulation  of  nearly  seven  thousand  copies.  It  is  edited  by 
Stasiulevitch,  who  succeeded  Katchenovski,  and  professes  a 
moderate  liberalism.  Its  specialties  are  history  and  criti¬ 
cism.  Katkof,  whose  influence  superseded  that  of  Herzen, 
besides  editing  the  Moscow  Gazette,  has  charge  of  the  Russki 
Viestnik ,  which  is  the  constant  upholder  of  Panslavism  and 
Slavophilism.  It  is  modestly  followed  in  this  course  by  the 
Grazhdamn ,  or  “  Citizen,55  founded  in  eighteen  hundred  and 
seventy-two  by  Gradovski,  and  edited  by  Prince  Metcherski 
and  Dostoievsky  The  Sovremenik ,  oi  “  Contemporary,55  edited 
by  Panaief  and  Nekrasof,  which  had  at  one  time  eight  thou¬ 
sand  subscribers  and  ten  times  as  many  readers,  was  suppressed, 
soon  after  the  publication  of  Tchernishevski’s  novel,  “  What 
is  to  be  done  ?55  and  gave  room  to  the  0 tetchestv ennui  Zapiski, 
or  “  Annals  of  the  Country,55  which  is  now  under  the  direction 
of  Kraievski.  We  must  also  mention  the  Dielo ,  or  “  Deed,55 
an  advanced  liberal  sheet,  and  the  Slovoy  or  “  Word,55  the  or¬ 
gan  of  the  Socialists.  In  consequence  of  the  disturbances  of 
the  Nihilists  and  the  alarming  attempts  upon  the  Emperor’s 
life,  an  ukas  was  enacted  on  the  fifth  of  April,  eighteen  hun¬ 
dred  and  seventy-nine,  by  which  the  governor-generals  were 
granted  the  right,  without  warning,  to  suspend  or  suppress 
any  periodical  or  journal  whose  tendencies  were  considered 
injurious.  In  consequence  of  this  the  Courier,  of  Moscow7, 
was  obliged  to  close  its  doors.  Already  the  Grazhdamn  had 
been  suspended,  the  Golos  interdicted  for  five  months,  and  the 
Sovremenik  suppressed.  The  enlightened  and  liberal  action  of 
Prince  Melikof  is,  however,  making  an  entire  change  in  the 
disposition  of  the  press.  Among  comic  papers  may  be  men¬ 
tioned  the  Svistok,  or  “  Whistle,”  in  which  Dobroliubof,  under 

VOL.  III.  18 


274 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  X. 

the  pseudonyme  of  Konrad  Lilienschwager,  wrote  articles  of 
reckless  satire.  In  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-seven  Plushard 
began  to  publish  the  Veseltchak ,  or  “  Merry  Andrew,”  assisted 
by  Benidiktof,  Pogoski,  Count  Sollohub,  Lenkovski,  better 
known  as  Baron  de  Brambeous,  whose  name  made  the  paper 
a  success.  At  the  death  of  the  latter,  Lvof  took  charge  of  the 
Veseltchak ,  but  his  talents  were  not  equal  to  his  opportunities, 
and  the  paper  soon  perished.  The  same  fate  attended  the 
Gudok  and  the  Zanoza.  In  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-nine 
Kurotchkin  founded  the  Iskra ,  or  “  Spark,”  which  was  very 
successful,  and  for  four  years  was  the  only  comic  paper  in 
Russia.  It  amused  the  public  by  the  boldness  with  which  it 
published  all  sorts  of  scandals  and  allusions,  which  were  not 
difficult  to  refer  to  prominent  individuals.  Afterwards  a  part 
of  its  editors  separated  from  its  management  and  started  a 
new  paper  called  the  Budilnik ,  or  “Alarm  Clock.”  These 
two  are  the  only  humorous  papers  worthy  of  mention. 

THE  ARTISTIC  AND  SCIENTIFIC  MOVEMENT. 

The  Russians  are  a  thoroughly  musical  people.  Their  folk¬ 
songs,  of  a  plaintive  and  minor  character,  bear  an  impress  which 
is  all  their  own.  The  Ukraina  and  Podolia  is  especially  the 
home  of  an  indigenous  and  beautiful  music.  At  one  time  im¬ 
provisers  from  this  land  of  song  were  to  be  found  in  all  the 
great  houses  of  Russia.  Perhaps  the  greatest  composer  now 
living  is  a  Russian.  Anton  Rubinstein  was  born  in  eighteen 
hundred  and  twenty-nine.  His  reputation  as  a  pianist  is  also 
unequalled.  He  has  composed  several  operas  on  Russian  sub¬ 
jects,  such  as  “  Dmitri  Donskoi,”  “  The  Hunter  of  Siberia,” 
“  Vengeance,”  and  others.  Other  Russian  composers  of  note 
are  Tchaikovski,  Leshetitski,  Sierof,  Lvof,  Dragomirof,  and 
Dorgomuizhski. 

Orthodoxy,  by  proscribing  statues  in  the  churches,  is  largely 
responsible  for  the  small  number  of  great  sculptors  which 


1856-1880.] 


LITERATURE  AND  ART. 


275 


Russia  has  produced;  there  are  a  few  names,  however,  which 
are  worthy  of  mention.  Martos  sculptured  the  monument  to 
Minin  and  Pozharski  at  Moscow.  Halberg  erected  a  statue 
of  Catherine  at  the  Academy  of  the  Pine  Arts.  Mikieshin  was 
the  sculptor  of  the  monument  at  Novgorod,  which  was  un¬ 
veiled  in  September,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-two,  on  the 
occasion  of  the  thousand  years’  anniversary  of  the  Russian  Em¬ 
pire.  The  same  artist,  in  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-four, 
at  Saint  Petersburg,  erected  a  statue  to  Catherine  the  Second, 
surrounded  by  the  great  men  of  her  time.  Orlovski  sculp¬ 
tured  statues  of  Kutuzof-Smolenski  and  Barclay  de  Tolley  at 
Kazan.  The  majority  of  sculptors  who  have  won  a  European 
reputation  are  in  reality  Poles.  Antokolski,  Kruinski,  Riger, 
Kamenski,  Godebski,  and  Pimenef  have  exhibited  excellent 
work.  Runeberg,  who  has  illustrated  the  legend  of  Cupid 
and  Psyche  in  marble,  is  a  Finn.  At  the  Paris  exposition  of 
eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-eight,  Tchizhof  was  the  only 
purely  Russian  sculptor  who  attracted  attention. 

Russia  has  produced  many  distinguished  painters.  One 
of  the  best  at  the  present  time  is  Vereshtchagin,  whose  pic¬ 
tures  of  East  Indian  landscapes  are  famous  for  the  brilliancy 
of  their  coloring.  Ivan  Aivazovski,  the  painter  of  marine  land¬ 
scapes,  is  of  Armenian  origin.  He  was  born  in  eighteen  hun¬ 
dred  and  sixteen,  and  lives  at  Theodosia  in  the  Crimea,  which 
has  inspired  some  of  his  finest  pictures.  Alexei  Bogoliubof, 
a  pupil  of  Vorobief,  Isabey,  and  Achenbach,  is  his  chief  rival 
in  this  class  of  landscapes.  One  of  his  finest  efforts  is  his 
“  View  of  Nijni-Novgorod.”  Feodor  Brunni  is  the  rector  of 
the  Academy  of  Fine  Arts ;  his  specialty  is  religious  subjects. 
Nikolai  Svertchkof  excels  in  his  pictures  of  horses  and  snow- 
scenes.  The  latter  are  also  favorite  subjects  with  Klever. 
Other  landscape  painters  of  note  are  Meshtcherski,  Priashnikof, 
and  Shishkin,  the  painter  of  forest  scenes.  Among  portrait 
painters  are  Makarof,  Pavel  Pleshanof,  Vasili  Tropinin,  Za- 
renko,  and  Alexander  Kharlamof,  who  exhibited  excellent  por- 


276 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  X. 


traits  of  Monsieur  and  Madame  Viardot  and  their  friend,  Ivan 
Turgenief. 

The  Russian  painters  have  rivalled  the  Russian  authors  in 
their  choice  of  historical  subjects.  Iakobi  painted  the  mar¬ 
riage  of  a  jester  and  a  dwarf  in  the  famous  ice-palace  on  the 
Neva.  Pelevin  has  shown  a  picture  representing  a  boyar 
reading  to  Sophia  the  ukas  of  her  brother,  Peter  the  Great, 
commanding  her  seclusion  in  a  convent.  Two  of  his  pictures 
relate  to  Ivan  the  Terrible,  one  of  them  a  portrait.  Litov- 
tchenko  has  painted  the  same  Tsar  exhibiting  his  treasures  to 
the  English  ambassador.  Others  who  have  made  choice  of 
historical  subjects  are  Konstantin  Elavetski,  Kotsebue,  Gay, 
and  Semigradski.  The  three  Makhovski  brothers  have  illus¬ 
trated  Oriental  manners  and  customs,  especially  those  of 
Cairo. 

Among  the  painters  of  genre  subjects  and  of  Russian  pe¬ 
culiarities  are  Gustaf  Brudkovski,  Baron  Klodt,  Pavel  Eetodof 
the  Russian  Hogarth,  Koshilef,  Vasili  Perof,  and  Popof.  Ste- 
renberg,  Vereshtchagin,  and  Repin  have  painted  the  wild  scenes 
of  army  life,  camps,  and  battles.  Bronikof  executed  the  fres¬ 
cos  in  the  Russian  church  at  Paris.  At  Moscow  the  magnifi¬ 
cent  Church  of  the  Saviour,  projected  by  Alexander  the  First, 
is  in  process  of  completion  after  the  plans  of  Mr.  Tonn. 

The  lines  of  railway  which  intersect  Russia  have  necessi¬ 
tated  the  building  of  extensive  bridges.  At  Kief  a  bridge, 
five  hundred  and  seven  sazhens  in  length,  was  built  in 
eighteen  hundred  and  seventy.  In  eighteen  hundred  and 
seventy-two  the  bridge  across  the  Dnieper  at  Krementchug 
was  completed.  It  is  four  hundred  and  fifty-seven  sazhens  in 
length.  The  bridge  on  the  Orenburg  railroad,  crossing  the 
Volga  seventeen  versts  from  Suizran,  the  longest  in  the  world, 
was  opened  in  eighteen  hundred  and  eighty.  It  has  thirteen 
iron  arches,  each  weighing  one  million  three  hundred  and 
forty-three  thousand  one  hundred  and  sixty  kilograms.  The 
total  length  is  six  hundred  and  ninety-six  sazhens,  the  height 


1856-1880.] 


LITERATURE  AND  ART. 


277 


above  the  river  is  eighteen  and  one  third  sazhens,  and  the  cost 
was  four  million  six  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  rubles. 
The  design  was  due  to  Professor  Bieleliubski,  and  it  was 
erected  under  the  care  of  Chief  Engineer  Berezin. 

The  Russians  have  always  shown  a  great  passion  for  geo¬ 
graphical  investigation.  The  discoveries  made  by  Alexander 
von  Humboldt  in  the  interior  of  Asia  were  at  the  command  of 
the  Russian  Emperor,  Nicholas.  In  eighteen  hundred  and 
thirty-four  Vasili  Eeodorof,  the  astronomer,  reached  Lake  Bal- 
kash,  and  determined  the  mouth  of  the  river  Lepsa,  which  flows 
into  it.  Eight  years  later  Messrs.  Karelin  and  von  Schrenk 
explored  the  country  of  the  Dzungarian  Kirghiz  between  Lake 
Balkash  and  the  river  Ili.  Baer  and  Hilmersen  edited  pas¬ 
sages  from  von  Schrenk’s  travels.  In  eighteen  hundred  and 
forty-five  the  Imperial  Russian  Geographical  Society  was 
founded  at  Saint  Petersburg.  With  an  annual  income  of 
twenty-five  thousand  dollars,  it  has  been  enabled  to  render  im¬ 
mense  services  to  human  knowledge  in  its  explorations  and 
investigations  of  the  most  distant  and  difficult  provinces  of 
Siberia  and  Central  Asia.  Branch  societies,  each  with  a  lim¬ 
ited  circle  of  work,  have  been  established  at  Tiflis,  Irkutsk, 
Vilna,  and  Orenburg.  The  geography  and  topography  of 
Russia  proper  has  been  made  the  object  of  most  thorough  in¬ 
vestigation.  In  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-one  Colonel  Ko va¬ 
le  vski  penetrated  to  the  very  borders  of  Chinese  Dzungaria, 
established  trading  posts  at  Kulja  and  Tchugutchak,  and 
determined  the  boundaries  between  the  two  nations.  In 
eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-seven  the  astronomer,  Professor 
Semenof,  ascended  to  the  summit  of  Tian-Shan,  or  Celestial 
Mountains.  The  southeastern  provinces  of  Orenburg  have 
been  subjected  to  a  geometrical  survey  by  Captain  Mielitski, 
the  well-known  explorer  of  Lake  Baikal,  and  Captain  Antipof, 
who  published  an  account  of  their  investigations,  with  maps. 
About  the  same  time  Borshtchof,  the  botanist,  accompanied 
by  Mr.  Sievertsof,  made  a  geological  survey  of  the  parts  of  the 


278 


HISTORY  OR  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  X. 


same  province  lying  between  the  Ural  Mountains,  the  sea  of 
Aral,  and  the  Caspian.  In  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-eight 
the  Geographical  Society  sent  an  expedition  to  explore  the 
Persian  province  of  Khorasan,  under  the  command  of  Nikolai 
Khanuikof,  the  explorer  of  Bukhara  and  the  steppes  of  Central 
Asia.  Other  members  of  this  expedition  were  von  Lenz,  the 
astronomer,  and  Dr.  von  Bungl,  the  botanist.  A  detailed  ac¬ 
count  of  this  expedition,  by  Khanuikof,  was  published  in  Paris 
in  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-one.  In  eighteen  hundred  and 
sixty-three  Captain  Butakof  took  soundings  of  the  Sir  Daria, 
and  determined  its  navigable  channels  as  far  as  Bailduir- 
Tugai.  Western  Siberia  has  been  thoroughly  surveyed  and 
mapped.  Lieutenant  Tatarinof  found  gold  and  coal  on  the 
southern  shores  of  the  Kara-Tau  Mountains,  only  ninety  kilo¬ 
meters  from  Turkestan  and  Tchemkend.  Maksheief  the  sta¬ 
tistician,  the  archgeologist  Pavitski,  and  Radlof  the  philologist, 
connected  with  Captain  ITolmstronTs  expedition  west  from 
Lake  Balkash  through  the  Golodnaia,  or  Hungry  Steppe, 
made  full  and  interesting  reports.  The  mountain  regions  of 
Tarbagatai  were  explored  by  Struve  and  Potanin,  who  so 
completed  the  topographical  survey  of  the  region  that  a  “  map 
of  the  province  of  the  governor-generalship  of  Turkestan  ”  was 
published  in  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-eight.  Sievertsof, 
by  his  explorations  of  the  Upper  Sir  Daria  and  the  regions  be¬ 
yond  the  Tian-Shan  Mountains,  has  convinced  himself  that 
the  inland  seas  of  Central  Asia  were  originally  united  with  the 
Arctic  Ocean,  and  that  probably  the  Caspian  was  separated 
earlier  from  the  Black  Sea  than  the  Black  Sea  was  from  the 
Mediterranean.  Przhevalski  travelled  through  southern  and 
southeastern  Mongolia,  from  Lake  Dalai  Nor  to  the  northern 
boundaries  of  the  Havos  province,  and  sent  home  a  diary  of 
his  journey.  He  afterwards  received  a  permit  from  the  Chi¬ 
nese  government  to  extend  his  travels  to  Lake  Kuku  Nor  and 
Thibet.  In  company  of  Puiltsof  and  two  Cossacks  the  inde¬ 
fatigable  explorer  had  succeeded,  at  last  accounts,  in  completely 


1856-1880.] 


LITERATURE  AND  ART. 


279 


traversing  the  difficult  regions  of  Thibet.  Another  traveller, 
Matuzovski,  published  in  the  Turkestan  Times  of  Tashkent  an 
account  of  his  adventures  in  Bokhara  and  the  vast  wilderness 
of  Mongolia.  A  Russian  exploring  expedition  under  Steb- 
nitski  and  Radde,  in  the  interests  of  trade,  extended  their  re¬ 
searches  from  the  east  shore  of  the  Caspian  to  Khiva,  and 
established  posts  on  the  Oxus  in  Bokhara.  Still  another  ex¬ 
pedition  went  from  Krasnovodsk  to  Khiva,  and  a  botanical 
section  attempted  scientific  investigations  of  the  Sea  of  Azof. 
Maksimof  has  thoroughly  explored  the  coasts  of  the  Black  Sea, 
and  the  same  service  has  been  performed  on  the  Aral  by  Bu- 
takof  and  Sievertsof.  Von  Middendorff  has  made  extensive 
journeys  through  Siberia,  bringing  to  light  its  immense  re¬ 
sources.  Central  China  has  been  investigated  by  Timovski 
and  Kovalevski.  Golovnin  has  devoted  himself  to  Japan. 
Kashgar  has  been  visited  by  Valishurof.  Krashianikofs  de¬ 
scription  of  Kamtchatka  is  a  standard  work,  and  has  been  trans¬ 
lated  into  most  European  languages.  Liitke  has  also  travelled 
in  Russian  America,  and  Soritchef  and  Vrangel  have  explored 
the  icy  seas  of  the  far  North.  While  Nikolai  Muravief,  Piotr 
Tchihatchof,  Sosnovski,  Kostienkof,  and  Eedtchenko  have  made 
explorations  of  Central  Asia,  and  Norof,  Muravief,  and  Umanes 
in  the  far  East,  Zhakovlef  has  made  investigations  in  Italy, 
Botkin  has  described  Spain,  and  Platon  Tchihatchef  has  visited 
South  America.  The  energy  and  enterprise  of  the  Russian 
explorers  easily  put  them  in  the  front  rank. 

Ethnography  and  philology  can  count  some  illustrious 
names :  Castren,  Sjoegren,  Schiefner,  Bethlinjk,  Dorn,  Kunik, 
Lerch,  Wiedmann,  Kanikof,  Brosset,  Storch,  and  Kceppen. 
In  the  natural  sciences  Brandt,  Ovsiannikof,  and  Gappert  have 
made  names  for  themselves.  Koksharof  is  an  authority  in 
mineralogy ;  Kuppfer  has  especially  studied  meteorology ; 
Iakobi  has  written  monographs  on  galvanism  and  the  treat¬ 
ment  of  platinum ;  Engelhardt,  Pritzsche,  and  Shishkof  are 
names  well  known  to  the  students  of  chemistry ;  Iabloshkof 


280 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  X. 


is  the  inventor  of  the  electric  light  called  by  his  name.  In 
astronomy  Struve  may  be  mentioned,  and  Savitch  has  pre¬ 
pared  a  valuable  work  on  the  calculus.  Simonof,  who  died  in 
eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-five,  Lobatchevski,  who  died  the 
following  year,  Buniakovski,  Tchebuitchef,  Borsch,  and  Mai- 
evski  are  famous  mathematicians.  In  the  same  field  Ostro- 
gradski,  who  died  in  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-one,  has 
published  works  on  algebra,  Somof  on  geometry. 

Vernadski  was  the  first  Russian  advocate  of  free  trade. 
The  surgeon  Pirogof  has  won  a  European  reputation.  In 
the  early  part  of  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-three  the 
ministry  of  the  interior,  composed  of  representatives  of  the 
different  departments,  organized  a  council  with  the  special 
purpose  of  improving  and  unifying  the  methods  of  collecting 
statistics.  This  statistical  council  was  afterwards  established 
on  a  firmer  basis,  and  it  was  owing  to  the  efforts  of  its  mem¬ 
bers  and  the  co-operation  of  the  imperial  family,  that  during 
the  next  ten  years  both  capitals  witnessed  numerous  statistical 
congresses  and  meetings  for  the  purpose  of  exhibiting  the 
products  and  resources  of  the  country.  Russia  has  thus  been 
enabled  to  invite  the  learned  men  of  Europe  to  its  inter¬ 
national  gatherings,  —  to  the  Ethnographical  Congress  of 
eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-seven  at  Moscow,  the  Exhibition  of 
Manufactures  and  Industries  at  Saint  Petersburg  in  eighteen 
hundred  and  seventy,  the  Polytechnic  Exhibition  of  Moscow 
in  June,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-two,  and  the  Statistical 
Congress  of  Saint  Petersburg,  held  during  the  same  year,  —  as 
well  as  to  the  series  of  archaeological  meetings  of  Saint  Peters¬ 
burg,  Moscow,  Kief,  and  Kazan  from  eighteen  hundred  and 
sixty-nine  to  eighteen  hundred  and  seven ty-seven,  and  the 
Congress  of  Orientalists  at  Saint  Petersburg  in  eighteen  hun¬ 
dred  and  seventy-six.  The  International  Polytechnic  Exhibi¬ 
tion  of  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-two  opened  on  the 
eleventh  of  June  with  a  grand  celebration  of  the  two  hun¬ 
dredth  birthday  of  Peter  the  Great,  was  attended  by  the  rep- 


1856-1880.] 


LITERATURE  AND  ART. 


281 


resentatives  of  Germany,  Austria,  England,  France,  Belgium, 
and  Sweden,  and  numerous  deputations  came  from  Bohemia, 
Galicia,  Hungary,  Montenegro,  and  other  Slavic  lands.  The 
exhibition  was  opened  by  the  Grand  Duke  Konstantin,  the 
Emperor’s  brother ;  the  celebration  took  place  on  the  square 
in  front  of  the  Troitska  bridge.  A  cantata,  written  by  Polon¬ 
ski  and  set  to  music  by  Tchaikovski,  was  sung  under  the 
direction  of  Davuidof,  a  professor  in  the  Moscow  Conservatory. 
Russia  also  took  part  in  the  Vienna  Weltausstellung  in 
eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-three,  and  the  expositions  of 
Philadelphia  in  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-six  and  Paris  in 
eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-eight. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


ALEXANDER  THE  SECOND. 

1856  -  1880. 

The  Advance  of  Russian  Power  beyond  the  Caucasus.  —  Gortc2a- 
kof’s  Circular  Note. —  Shamil  and  the  Circassians.  —  Cen¬ 
tral  Asia.  —  The  Khanates.  —  The  Khivan  Expeditions. — Re¬ 
lations  with  China,  Japan,  and  the  United  States. 


GORTCHAKOF’S  CIRCULAR  NOTE. -SHAMIL  AND 

THE  CIRCASSIANS. 

THE  Russian  policy  of  territorial  aggrandizement  was  ex¬ 
plained  by  Prince  Gortchakof,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Em¬ 
pire,  in  a  circular  note  dated  November  twenty-first,  eighteen 
hundred  and  sixty-four,  and  sent  to  the  courts  of  Europe.  He 
showed  that  the  position  of  Russia  in  Central  Asia  is  similar 
to  that  of  all  civilized  states  brought  into  contact  with  semi¬ 
savage  nomad  tribes,  lacking  a  fixed,  social  organization. 
Commercial  relations  and  the  security  of  the  frontiers  can 
be  protected  only  by  reducing  these  turbulent  neighbors  to 
a  state  of  subordination..  But  when  this  result  has  been 
obtained,  and  the  tribes  on  the  frontier  have  become  peaceful, 
they  are  in  turn  exposed  to  the  attacks  of  more  distant  tribes, 
and  the  state  is  bound  to  defend  them  and  punish  those  who 
commit  the  depredations.  The  only  way  to  have  any  moral 
influence  over  these  Asiatic  tribes  is  to  establish  fortified  posts 
among  them,  and  by  a  greater  or  less  display  of  force  to  bring 
them  to  submission.  “But  beyond  this  second  line  other 


1856-1880.] 


ALEXANDER  II. 


283 


tribes  still  more  distant  soon  come  to  threaten,  in  their  turn, 
the  same  clangers,  and  require  the  same  measures  of  repres¬ 
sion.  The  state  thus  finds  itself  obliged  either  to  abandon 
this  ceaseless  labor  and  give  over  its  frontiers  to  perpetual  dis¬ 
order,  which  renders  all  prosperity,  all  security,  all  civilization, 
an  impossibility,  or  to  accept  the  alternative  of  plunging 
deeper  and  deeper  into  barbarous  countries  where,  at  every 
onward  step,  the  difficulties  and  expenses  are  increased.  Such 
has  been  the  lot  of  every  country  placed  in  similar  conditions. 
The  United  States  in  America,  Trance  in  Algeria,  Holland  in 
4ts  colonies,  England  in  India,  all  have  been  irresistibly 
forced,  less  by  ambition  than  by  imperious  necessity,  to  follow 
this  line  of  progress,  in  which  the  principal  difficulty  is  to 
know  where  it  will  end.”  The  circular  then  goes  on  to  state 
the  principle  upon  which  Russia  has  undertaken  to  establish 
/  its  rule  in  Central  Asia.  The  civilization  of  the  continent  is 
accepted  as  the  special  mission  of  Russia.  “  No  agent  has 
been  found  more  efficacious  for  the  spread  of  civilization  than 
commercial  relations.  Their  development  everywhere  de¬ 
mands  order  and  stability,  but  in  Asia  there  must  be  a  com¬ 
plete  change  in  the  customs  of  the  people.  The  first  thing 
that  the  Asiatic  tribes  must  learn  is,  that  more  is  to  be  gained 
by  favoring  and  protecting  the  caravan  trade  than  by  robbery. 
These  elementary  ideas  can  be  made  a  part  of  the  public  con- 
.  science  only  where  there  is  a  public,  that  is,  a  social  organiza¬ 
tion,  and  a  government  to  direct  and  represent  it.” 

Russia’s  occupation  of  the  Caucasus  dates  from  the  year 
seventeen  hundred  and  twenty-two,  when  Dagestan  was  in¬ 
vaded  by  Peter  the  Great,  who  established  Russian  garrisons 
at  Tarki  and  Baku.  In  eighteen  hundred  and  six,  and  again 
in  eighteen  hundred  and  thirteen,  many  provinces  were  given 
by  formal  treaty  into  the  protection  of  Alexander  the  First. 
Before  eighteen  hundred  and  twenty-four  nearly  the  whole  of 
Dagestan  was  under  control  of  the  Russians.  About  this  time 
the  fanatic  Kazi-Molla  began  to  advocate  the  doctrine  of 


284 


HISTORY  OR  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XI. 


Muridism,  which  was  rather  a  political  than  a  religious  move¬ 
ment.  A  Murid  signifies  a  person  who  walks  in  the  ways  of 
truth,  who  follows  the  second  part  of  the  Koran,  the  “  Tari- 
kat,”  or  book  of  moral  laws.  Kazi-Molla  was  born  in  seven¬ 
teen  hundred  and  eighty-five,  and  after  studying  the  Arabic 
language  and  the  Koran  with  his  grandfather,  the  learned 
Ismail,  and  with  Said-Effemdi,  the  liberal  friend  of  Iermolof, 
he  began  to  acquire  influence  with  the  mountain  tribes.  He 
is  reported  to  have  been  married  twice,  but  to  have  separated 
from  his  brides  on  the  first  day  because  they  were  unable  to 
preserve  silence.  The  first  ideas  of  Muridism  were  brought 
to  the  Caucasus  by  Molla-Mahmud.  After  Kazi-Molla  had 
joined  this  sect  in  eighteen  hundred  and  twenty-five,  the  doc¬ 
trine  spread  with  remarkable  rapidity.  Kazi-Molla  began  by 
endeavoring  to  exterminate  the  vice  of  drunkenness,  which 
he  punished  by  inflicting  forty  blows  with  a  rod.  One  of 
his  immediate  followers  was  the  celebrated  Ben  Mahomet 
Shamil,  “the  Prince  of  Believers,”  who  was  born  at  Imri  in 
seventeen  hundred  and  ninety-seven.  After  studying  philoso¬ 
phy,  and  living  as  a  recluse  monk  till  he  was  twenty-seven 
years  of  age,  he  entered  with  his  whole  heart  into  the  revolu¬ 
tion  of  the  Caucasus.  Most  of  the  tribes  of  Dagestan  were 
roused  by  the  religious  and  political  preaching  of  Kazi-Molla, 
who  advocated  a  holy  war  against  “  the  unfaithful.”  Iermolof 
entered  Dagestan  in  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-one,  and 
stormed  the  Aul,  or  fortified  village  of  Imri.  Kazi-Molla  was 
killed,  and  Shamil  was  severely  wounded.  His  escape  was 
considered  miraculous,  and  that  circumstance,  added  to  the 
position  in  which  the  Molla  was  found, — with  one  hand  grasp¬ 
ing  his  beard  and  the  other  pointing  to  heaven,  —  caused  the 
fanaticism  of  the  Murids  to  blaze  forth  more  violently  than 
ever.  Hassam-Bey  succeeded  Kazi-Molla,  but  was  assassinated 
in  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-four.  Shamil  seized  the 
treasure  of  the  Molla,  and  was  immediately  recognized  as  the 
Iman,  or  chief.  He  continued  the  struggle  with  the  Russians 


1856  — 1880.] 


ALEXANDER  II. 


285 


with  indifferent  success.  In  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty- 
nine  he  was  surrounded  in  the  fortress  of  Akhulgo,  situated 
on  an  inaccessible  rock.  His  escape  from  General  Grabbed 
army,  who  took  the  fortress,  was  again  considered  miraculous. 
He  reappeared  at  Dargo,  in  the  Andi  Mountains,  and  in 
eighteen  hundred  and  forty-two  he  ruled  over  the  souls  and 
bodies  of  more  than  three  quarters  of  a  million  of  men.  He 
formed  this  population  into  a  military  organization,  in  which 
every  man  from  the  age  of  sixteen  to  sixty  was  obliged  to 
serve.  By  means  of  his  marvellous  escapes,  his  sudden  ap¬ 
pearances,  his  fasting  and  prayers,  he  succeeded  in  making  his 
people  look  upon  him  as  divine.  The  success  which  he  en¬ 
joyed  against  the  Russians  in  eighteen  hundred  and  forty-two 
was  not  continued  after  Prince  Vorontsof  was  appointed  to  the 
command.  In  eighteen  hundred  and  forty-five  Dargo  was 
captured  after  a  protracted  siege.  The  following  year  he  went 
into  the  Kabarda  and  seized  Zhergebil,  a  fort  built  by  the 
Russians.  There  he  withstood  a  fortnight’s  siege  in  eighteen 
hundred  and  forty-seven,  and  finding  his  position  growing  un¬ 
tenable,  he  escaped  to  the  mountains.  He  had  lost  so  many 
men  during  his  campaign  on  the  Terek  and  Kuban,  that  dur¬ 
ing  the  Crimean  war  he  was  enabled  to  gain  little  advantage 
by  the  withdrawal  of  Russian  troops.  In  eighteen  hundred 
and  fifty-eight  Prince  Bariatinski,  the  energetic  governor 
of  the  Caucasus,  seized  the  pass  of  Argun,  won  the  battle  near 
the  village  of  Ismail,  and  after  a  long  siege  captured  Veden, 
the  fortified  residence  of  Shamil,  on  the  eleventh  of  August, 
eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-eight.  The  Lesgi  abandoned  him, 
and  at  last  he  was  captured,  after  a  heroic  defence,  in  his  castle 
of  Gunib  in  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-nine.  Prince  Bari¬ 
atinski  sent  the  old  hero  to  Saint  Petersburg,  where  he  was 
received  with  due  honor  by  Alexander.  He  was  allowed  a 
^  residence  at  Kaluga,  where  he  finished  his  days.  After  the 
capture  of  Shamil  the  Tcherkesui,  or  Circassians,  in  spite  of 
Mahomet-Emin,  were  obliged  to  submit  to  the  Russians 


286 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XI. 


Mahomet  himself  went  to  Saint  Petersburg  to  confirm  his 
allegiance  to  the  Tsar.  The  emigration  of  the  mountaineers,  en¬ 
couraged  by  England  from  hostile  feelings  toward  Russia,  ren¬ 
dered  the  latter  government,  on  the  other  hand,  the  service  of 
relieving  the  country  of  its  most  turbulent  elements,  and  of 
making  room  for  colonization.  The  Murshids,  or  teachers 
of  truth,  urged  the  Mahometans  to  abandon  the  homes  of 
their  ancestors.  Many  of  them  died  on  the  route.  Very  few 
ever  reached  the  Turkish  shores,  and  of  those  some  returned 
afterwards  without  waiting  for  permission.  The  Russian  con¬ 
quest  was  secured  by  numerous  fortresses  called  Kreposti  and 
strategic  routes,  as,  for  instance,  that  from  Vladikavkas  to  Tiflis, 
the  capital  of  Georgia.  The  Russian  element,  attracted  by  this 
beautiful  and  imposing  country,  has  rapidly  increased  north 
of  the  Caucasus.  Churches  and  schools  have  been  established, 
and  the  wonderful  wealth  of  these  regions  is  being  surely 
developed. 


CENTRAL  ASIA. 

Mr.  Eugene  Schuyler,  in  the  Conclusion  to  his  interesting 
and  valuable  work  on  Turkestan,  indulges  in  the  following 
reflections :  “  Central  Asia  has  no  stores  of  wealth  and  no 
/economical  resources.  Neither  by  its  agricultural  nor  by  its 
mineral  wealth,  nor  by  its  commerce,  nor  by  the  revenue  to 
be  derived  from  it,  can  it  ever  repay  the  Russians  for  what  it 
has  already  cost,  and  for  the  rapidly  increasing  expenditure 
bestowed  upon  it.  Had  Russia  known  fifteen  years  ago  as 
much  about  the  countries  of  Central  Asia  as  she  does  now, 
there  can  be  hardly  a  doubt  that  there  would  have  been  no 
movement  in  that  direction.  .  .  .  Despite  the  drain  upon 
I  the  Imperial  exchequer,  it  is  practically  impossible  for  Russia 
to  withdraw  from  her  position  in  Central  Asia.  ...  On  the 
contrary,  as  far  as  one  can  foresee,  Russia  will  be  compelled 
in  the  future  to  advance  still  further.  It  seems  now  to  be 
impossible  for  her  to  remain  where  she  is.  Kashgar,  Bu- 


1856  -1880.] 


ALEXANDER  II. 


237 


khara,  and  the  Turkoman  country  must  be  either  annexed  or 
they  must  be  reduced  to  a  position  of  real  and  not  nominal 
vassalage.” 

Mr.  Schuyler  then  goes  on  to  show  what  will  be  the  ethni¬ 
cal  and  political  boundaries  of  Russia  in  Asia  :  “  She  will  have 
under  rule  in  Central  Asia  all  the  Mahometan  peoples  of 
Turkish  race.  On  the  east  her  neighbor  will  be  China,  and  as 
the  Russians  are  not  disposed  to  get  into  difficulties  with  that 
empire,  we  may  expect  few  boundary  disputes.  On  the  south 
the  frontier  will  be  the  Oxus,  separating  the  Russian  domains 
from  Afghanistan,  as  agreed  upon  by  arrangement  with  Eng¬ 
land.  Although  the  rulers  are  Afghans,  and  of  different  stock, 
yet  the  inhabitants  of  Balkh  and  the  province  south,  as  far  as  the 
Hindu  Kush,  are  of  Turkish  origin.  This  range  would  there¬ 
fore  form  the  true  ethnical  frontier  of  Russia  on  the  south,  and 
it  must  be  remembered  that  mountains  are  always  better  bar¬ 
riers  and  boundaries  than  rivers.  On  the  west  the  Russian 
frontier  will  join  that  of  Persia,  which  is  inhabited  by  men  of 
a  different  race,  and  although  Mussulmans,  yet  of  a  sect  vio¬ 
lently  hated  by  the  inhabitants  of  Central  Asia.  If  any  dif¬ 
ficulty  with  England  ever  arise,  it  will  probably  be  in  Persia, 
where  at  present  Russian  influence  is  paramount,  and  not 
^  elsewhere.” 

The  gradual  growth  of  Russian  influence  in  Asia  is  well 
condensed,  in  an  historical  sketch  of  Russian  policy  in  Asia, 

Professor  Grigorief,  forming  an  appendix  to  Mr.  Schuyler's 
Turkestan.  Turkestan  is  a  sandy  region  traversed  by  the  Syr 
Daria  and  the  Amu  Daria  rivers.  The  river  Syr,  known  to 
the  ancients  as  the  Iaxartes,  rises  from  a  glacier  in  the  Djit- 
tim-Tau  range  of  the  Tian-Shan  Mountains,  to  the  south  of 
Lake  Issik-Kul,  at  an  elevation  of  about  thirty-six  hundred 
meters  above  the  sea.  After  receiving  several  tributaries,  the 
Naryn,  as  it  is  called  for  its  first  five  hundred  kilometers,  is 
joined  by  the  Kara-Kuldja,  which  rises  in  the  Alai  Mountains. 
From  the  junction  the  river,  now  called  the  Syr  Daria,  flows 


288 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XI. 


by  Khodjent,  and,  after  forming  the  vast  marshes  of  Bakali- 
Kapa,  falls  into  the  Sea  of  Aral  to  the  west  of  Kazalinsk. 
The  shallows  in  the  lower  course  of  the  river  are  the  great 
obstacle  to  its  navigation,  and  all  attempts  to  better  it  have 
been  unavailing.  Schuyler  tells  of  an  old  legend  that  the 
whole  valley  of  the  Syr  Daria  was  at  one  time  so  thickly  set¬ 
tled  that  the  bulbul  could  fly  from  branch  to  branch  of  the 
fruit  trees,  and  a  cat  could  walk  from  wall  to  wall,  from  house¬ 
top  to  housetop,  all  the  distance  from  Kashgar  to  the  sea. 
Many  large  and  flourishing  cities  existed  along  the  banks,  and 
the  mounds  which  enclose  their  ruins  disclose  pottery,  house¬ 
hold  utensils,  and  other  evidences  of  early  civilization.  The 
desert,  which  has  usurped  this  cultivation,  is  rapidly  growing 
under  the  influence  of  the  strong  winds  which  blow  the  sands 
continually  toward  the  south  and  southwest. 

The  Amu  Daria,  which  the  ancients  called  the  Oxus,  rises 
in  Lake  Sari  Kul,  on  the  northern  slope  of  the  Hindu 
Kush  Mountains,  in  the  territory  of  Pamir,  called  by  the 
Hindus  the  roof  of  the  world.  The  Oxus,  which  now 
empties  by  many  mouths  into  the  Sea  of  Aral,  in  all  prob¬ 
ability  once  flowed  into  the  Caspian.  Major  Wood,  who 
accompanied  Colonel  Sobolef ’s  Amu  Daria  exploring  expedi¬ 
tion  in  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-four,  believes  that  the 
course  of  the  river  may  have  been  changed  by  means  of  the 
irrigation  canals  near  Khiva,  which  took  off  so  much  water 
during  the  summer  floods  that  the  silt  deposited  in  the  river¬ 
bed  gradually  accumulated  beyond  the  power  of  the  water  to 
wash  it  away.  It  has  been  proposed  to  turn  the  waters  of  the 
Amu  Daria  once  more  into  their  old  channel.  A  well-defined 
bed  exists,  through  which  it  was  believed  that  if  the  dams  on 
the  Laudan  were  removed  the  river  would  once  more  fall  into 
the  Caspian  near  Krasnovodsk ;  but  an  insuperable  difficulty 
exists  in  the  comparatively  small  supply  of  water,  owing  to  the 
destruction  of  the  forests  in  Central  Asia.  Mr.  Schuyler  says  : 
“  In  order  to  have  sufficient  water  for  navigation,  it  would 


1856-1880.] 


ALEXANDER  II. 


289 


seem  to  be  necessary  to  destroy  the  irrigation  systems,  and 
this,  by  diminishing,  if  not  putting  an  end  to  the  productive 
power  of  the  countries  of  Central  Asia,  and  thus  destroying 
the  commerce,  would  remove  the  only  reason  for  which  naviga- 
*  tion  is  considered  necessary.” 

The  government  of  the  Syr  Daria  is  the  most  extensive  of 
the  four  provinces  which  form  Russian  Turkestan ;  it  is  sub¬ 
-divided  into  eight  districts,  and  inhabited  by  five  different 
peoples  besides  Russians,  Tatars,  Jews,  Hindus,  Chinese,  and 
Persians.  The  most  numerous  are  the  Kirgiz,  who  belong  to 
six  tribes,  and  make  up  nearly  sixty  per  cent  of  the  popula¬ 
tion.  The  principal  towns  are  situated  on  or  near  the  upper 
course  of  the  Iaxartes.  Tashkent,  the  principal  city  of  the 
Kurama  district,  and  the  residence  of  the  governor  general  of 
Turkestan,  has  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  inhabitants, 
and  a  Russian  population  of  six  thousand.  The  Russian  town 
is  well  built  and  possesses  a  theatre  and  a  public  library,  where 
can  be  found  Russian,  English,  Erench,  and  German  books.  The 
projected  railway  uniting  Orenburg,  Samarkand,  and  Siberia 
will  undoubtedly  be  of  great  advantage  to  the  city.  The 
walls  of  the  city  are  more  than  twenty-five  kilometers  in 
length,  three  or  four  meters  in  height,  and  built  of  solid  blocks 
of  clay.  The  town  is  entirely  hidden  in  beautiful  gardens  and 
orchards. 

Khodjent,  the  key  of  the  Fergana,  is  situated  on  the  Syr 
Daria,  and  its  population  is  variously  estimated  to  be  from 
eighteen  thousand  to  fifty  thousand.  It  lies  on  the  direct 
route  between  Kokan  and  Bukhara,  and  was,  therefore,  a 
cause  of  contention  between  these  two  countries.  It  was  cap¬ 
tured  by  the  Russians  on  the  fifth  of  June,  eighteen  hundred 
and  sixty-six.  Khodjent  is  usually  considered  the  site  of  Alex¬ 
andria  Eskhate,  or  the  Last  Alexandria,  founded  by  the  great 
conqueror  whose  exploits  are  still  matters  of  legend  through¬ 
out  the  whole  region. 

Tchimkent,  Aulie-Ata,  and  Turkestan  are  the  other  chief 

19 


VOT..  III. 


290 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XT. 


cities.  At  Turkestan  is  the  “ incomparable  mosque”  of  Hazret 
Iasavi,  the  Mussulman  Apostle  of  Central  Asia.  Hazret 
Hodja  Akhmet  Iasavi  was  the  founder  of  the  sect  Iahria,  and 
died  about  eleven  hundred  and  twenty.  The  mosque  over 
his  tomb  was  begun  by  Timur,  or  Tamerlan,  in  thirteen 
hundred  and  ninety-seven.  Bektchusin  gives  the  following 
description  of  it :  “  It  is  built  on  a  space  outside  the  fortifica¬ 
tions  of  the  city,  surrounded  by  a  lofty  wall  of  clay  flanked 
at  the  corners  with  bastions  provided  with  artillery.  .  .  . 
Two  minarets  joined  together  by  a  stone  coping  form  the  front 
of  the  mosque.  Its  top  and  its  two  cupolas  have  no  roof.  It 
is  divided  in  the  interior  into  three  portions.  The  first,  situ¬ 
ated  under  the  dome,  forms  a  vast  hall  sixteen  sazhen  in 
height;  on  the  right  and  left  are  four  chambers  filled  with 
tombs.  On  the  left  front  a  door  leads  into  the  principal 
mosque,  forming  the  second  division,  in  which  the  religious 
exercises  are  performed,  but  only  on  Fridays.  In  the  centre 
is  a  good-sized  chamber  in  which  are  be  seen  the  tombs  of 
Hazret  and  his  family.  Toward  the  right  is  a  long  corridor 
with  a  small  opening  at  the  extremity,  and  likewise  filled  with 
tombs.  From  this  corridor  you  enter  a  vast  chamber  where 
you  see  the  sacred  well.  Near  the  mosque  is  a  small  round 
edifice  adorned  with  a  cupola  and  covered  with  mosaics.  The 
mosque  of  Hazret  is  constructed  of  square-pressed  tiles ; 
the  walls  are  strengthened  by  great  wooden  girders.  All  the 
beams  are  of  wood.  The  ceiling  of  the  great  hall  surmounted 
by  the  cupola  has  a  moulding  of  alabaster.  The  mosque  and 
the  cupolas  are  covered  on  the  outside  with  a  beautiful  mosaic 
tiling.  On  the  whole  length  of  the  upper  cornice,  which  is 
made  of  blue  tiles,  there  is  an  Arabic  inscription  taken  from 
the  Koran.  Unfortunately  it  is  almost  illegible,  from  the  effects 
of  time.”  All  that  is  left  of  this  inscription  are  the  words : 
“  The  work  of  Hodja  Hussein,  a  native  of  the  city  Shiraz.” 
The  Hazret  mosque  is  considered  the  most  sacred  in  all  Cen¬ 
tral  Asia,  and  its  clergy  are  supported  by  pious  gifts,  by  taxes 


1836 -1880.] 


ALEXANDER  It 


291 


from  the  caravansaries  and  shops  of  the  city,  and  by  the  prod¬ 
ucts  of  certain  fields  cultivated  by  the  Hollas.  It  was  some¬ 
what  damaged  by  the  Russians  during  the  siege  of  the  city, 
and  was  saved  from  complete  destruction  only  by  the  bravery 
of  Sheikh-el-Islam,  who,  at  the  peril  of  his  life,  flung  out  the 
white  flag  from  the  minaret. 

On  the  upper  course  of  the  Syr  Daria  and  the  Naryn  is  the 
khanate  of  Kokan,  with  its  capital  of  the  same  name.  The 
khanate  is  an  almond-shaped  valley  two  hundred  and  fifty-seven 
kilometers  in  length  and  about  one  hundred  and  five  in  width, 
surrounded  on  all  sides  by  lofty  mountains,  those  to  the  south 
rising  to  a  height  of  from  fifty-seven  hundred  to  seventy- 
six  hundred  meters.  The  Southern  Kokan  or  Alai  Moun¬ 
tains  were  explored  by  Fedtchenko  in  eighteen  hundred  and 
seventy-one.  The  whole  valley  is  remarkably  fertile,  and  is 
watered  by  the  small  streams  which  descend  from  the  moun¬ 
tains  and  by  numerous  canals  filled  by  the  Syr  Daria.  Mr. 
Schuyler  speaks  of  the  unusual  fertility  of  this  ancient  valley 
y  of  Fergana,  and  the  Hungarian  traveller,  Mr.  Ujfalvy,  describes 
the  capital  as  the  most  interesting  city  of  Central  Asia.  Be¬ 
fore  its  annexation  the  khanate  contained  about  a  million 
inhabitants,  governed  arbitrarily  by  the  khan,  who  imposed 
the  most  grinding  taxes  and  was  a  “  frightful  tyrant.” 

On  the  Upper  Oxus  is  the  province  of  Balkh,  the  cradle 
of  our  race,  “of  the  thousand  gates,”  whose  capital  city 
stands  on  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  Baktra,  and  was  during  the 
Middle  Ages  a  centre  of  civilization.  It  was  then  called  Um- 
el-Bilad,  or  Mother  of  Cities.  Balkh  was  formerly  an  indepen¬ 
dent  khanate,  but  since  eighteen  hundred  and  forty  it  has 
formed  a  province  of  Afghanistan. 

Between  the  Syr  and  the  Amu  there  is  a  considerable  valley 
through  which  flows  the  Zerafshan,  which  rises  in  a  large 
glacier,  twenty-five  hundred  and  ninety-two  meters  above  the 
level  of  the  sea.  The  glacier,  which  is  fifty-six  kilometers  in 
length,  has  been  explored  by  Baron  Aminof.  The  Zerafshan 


292 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XI. 


descends  with  a  rapid  current  from  the  mountains,  and  not 
far  from  Samarkand  divides  into  many  branches,  most  of 
which,  being  employed  for  irrigation,  are  expended  before 
they  reach  the  Amu  Daria.  The  district  of  the  Zarafshan 
is  divided  into  three  cantons,  the  most  important  of  which  is 
near  the  centre  of  the  valley,  and  has  nearly  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  thousand  inhabitants.  Its  capital  is  Samarkand, 
which  was  known  as  Marakanda  in  the  time  of  Alexander  the 
Great,  and  was  a  flourishing  city,  whose  walls,  according  to 
Quintus  Curtius,  were  seventy  stadia  in  circumference.  It  was 
at  Samarkand  that  Alexander  killed  his  old  friend  and  adviser, 
Klytos.  The  great  Asiatic  conqueror,  Timur,  made  the  city 
his  capital,  and  both  he  and  his  successors  spared  no  pains  in 
making  it  worthy  of  its  beautiful  situation ;  and  in  Baber’s  time 
it  was  “a  wonderfully  elegant  city.”  The  mosque  in  honor  of 
Kazim  Ibn  Abbas,  called  Shah  Indeh,  or  the  Living  King,  was 
erected  by  Timur  in  thirteen  hundred  and  twenty-three,  and 
its  ruins  are  even  now  among  the  most  beautiful  of  Central 
Asia.  Madame  Ujfalvy-Bourdon  thus  describes  this  mosque  : 
“  The  decoration  is  so  magnificent  that  the  mind  is  over¬ 
whelmed.  The  walls  are  covered  with  superb  enamelled  bricks ; 
large  surfaces  are  decorated  with  rich  mosaics;  there  are 
round  or  rectangular  panels  with  designs  in  relief  of  remark¬ 
able  workmanship.  There  are  admirable  columns,  pediments, 
groined  vaults  with  corbel  recesses  of  extraordinary  beauty. 
The  delicate  and  slender  pillars  are  full  of  grace,  and  the 
groined  ceiling  is  incomparable  for  its  elegance,  its  boldness, 
and  at  the  same  time  its  purity  of  lines.”  There  are  other 
remarkable  mosques,  colleges,  and  public  buildings ;  but,  ac¬ 
cording  to  Mr.  Schuyler,  the  most  interesting  monument  of 
Samarkand  is  the  Gur-Amir,  or  Tomb  of  Tamerlan,  an  octago¬ 
nal  building  surmounted  by  a  melon-shaped  dome,  and  having 
two  minarets  in  ruins.  The  tombstone  of  the  great  conqueror 
is  a  superb  slab  of  greenish-black  jade,  which  has  around  its 
edge  a  complicated  inscription  giving  his  name  and  titles  and 


1856-1880.] 


ALEXANDER  II. 


2<J3 


k 


those  of  his  ancestors.  Timur  died  in  fourteen  hundred  and 
five.  Since  the  occupation  of  the  city  by  the  Russians  every¬ 
thing  about  the  mosque  has  been  put  in  repair,  and  a  guardian 
appointed.  Samarkand  has  about  thirty-five  thousand  inhab¬ 
itants,  and  is  the  residence  of  the  governor  general  of  the  dis¬ 
trict  and  other  Russian  authorities. 

Bukhara  and  the  districts  north  of  it  are  watered  by  the 
Shahri-rud  and  other  canals,  which  take  their  water  from 
the  Zarafshan.  The  city  of  Bukhara  is  called,  officially,  A1 
Sherif,  or  The  Noble ;  it  is  the  centre  of  trade  for  this  part  of 
Asia,  and  its  bazaar,  according  to  Mr.  Petrofski,  in  eighteen 
hundred  and  seventy-two,  was  five  times  larger  than  that  of 
Tashkent.  He  estimated  the  yearly  transactions  of  the  Bu- 
kharian  market  at  forty  million  rubles. 

On  the  Lower  Oxus  is  situated  the  khanate  of  Khiva,  in  the 
midst  of  a  fertile  oasis,  surrounded  by  the  sandy  desert  of 
Kara-Kum,  nine  hundred  and  sixty-five  kilometers  from  Tash¬ 
kent,  eight  hundred  and  five  from  Krasnovodsk  on  the  Caspian, 
and  nearly  fifteen  hundred  from  Orenburg. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  Tian-Shan  Mountains  is  situated 
the  khanate  of  Kashgar,  the  powerful  state  of  Eastern  Tur- 
^  kestan,  founded  in  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-four  by  the  bold 
and  able  Iakub  Khan.  Iakub’s  father,  according  to  Mr. 
Kurupatkin,  was  Ismet-Ulla,  a  native  of  Khodjent,  who  made  a 
livelihood  by  reciting  prayers  at  the  bedside  of  the  sick.  He 
removed  to  Pskent,  a  small  village  lying  about  fifty  kilometers 
from  Tashkent,  and  married.  When  Iakub  was  a  lad,  Ismet 
separated  from  his  wife,  who  then  married  8  butcher,  in  whose 
house  Iakub  was  brought  up.  On  the  death  of  his  parents  he 
became  a  batclia ,  or  public  dancer,  and  was  taken  to  Kokan 
by  a  wealthy  man  of  that  place.  Iakub  finally  came  into  the 
service  of  the  governor  of  Tashkent,  who  married  his  foster- 
sister,  the  daughter  of  the  butcher  of  Pskent.  Iakub  began  to 
receive  political  advancement.  He  helped  defend  the  fortress 
of  Ak-Mesjed  against  the  Russians  in  eighteen  hundred  and 


294 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XI. 


fifty- three,  and  in  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-four  fought  them 
near  Tchemkent ;  but  in  both  cases,  in  spite  of  his  bravery,  he 
was  defeated.  The  same  year  a  revolution  broke  out  in  Kash¬ 
gar,  and  Khodja-Buzurk  Khan  was  besought  to  come  back  to 
the  throne  of  his  fathers.  Iakub  took  a  handful  of  adven¬ 
turers,  and  after  ridding  himself  of  the  weak  and  pleasure- 
loving  Khodja,  and  poisoning  his  cousin,  Katta-Tura,  he 
succeeded  in  uniting  under  his  own  sceptre  the  provinces 
of  Kashgar,  Ianyssar,  Iarkand,  and  Khotan,  and  extended 
his  power  far  to  the  east.  He  took  in  succession  the  titles 
Bek  and  Atalik-Ghazi,  and  was  finally  recognized  as  Amir-el- 
Muminein,  or  Commander  of  the  Faithful,  by  the  Sultan,  who 
sent  him  valuable  gifts.  Mahmud  Iakub  is  said  to  have 
united  in  his  character  all  the  virtues  and  vices  of  his  race. 
He  was  brave,  energetic,  persevering,  but,  at  the  same  time, 
cruel,  wily,  and  treacherous.  By  his  remarkable  genius  he 
succeeded  in  making  himself  the  most  powerful  monarch  in 
Central  Asia. 

The  principal  cities  of  Eastern  Turkestan  are  Kashgar, 
Iarkand,  Khotan,  Aksu,  Ush-Turfan,  and  Ianyssar.  Iar¬ 
kand  is  the  largest  of  all  these  cities,  and  has  thirty-two 
thousand  houses  and  from  two  to  four  hundred  thousand  in¬ 
habitants.  Kashgar  was  formerly  the  most  western  city  of 
the  Chinese  Empire.  It  has  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  thou¬ 
sand  inhabitants,  and  is  surrounded  by  a  clay  wall.  Many 
famous  mosques  and  colleges  are  situated  in  Kashgar,  and  it 
is  distinguished  by  the  tomb  of  Apak-Khodja,  surmounted  by 
a  lofty  dome  covered  with  blue  enamelled  tiles.  The  other 
cities  have  from  four  to  twelve  thousand  houses.  All  of  these 
states,  whose  fertility  depends  on  the  Amu,  Syr,  Iarkand,  and 
Kashgar  rivers,  lie  on  the  commercial  route  to  India  and  China, 
and  the  English  have  always  looked  with  uneasiness  upon  the 
progress  of  the  Russians  in  these  regions. 

In  the  reign  of  the  Empress  Anna  many  hordes  of  Kirgiz 
sent  in  their  submission  to  Russia ;  but  for  more  than  a  cen- 


1856  -  1880.] 


ALEXANDER  II. 


295 


tury,  as  Professor  Grigorief  asserts,  in  order  to  defend  them¬ 
selves  from  their  new  subjects,  the  Russians  were  obliged  to 
shut  themselves  in  by  a  line  of  fortresses  requiring  large  gar¬ 
risons,  and  the  efforts  made  to  bring  them  to  obedience  were 
entirely  without  avail.  They  still  continued  to  plunder  the 
caravans  which  set  out  for  Central  Asia,  and  to  render  all  com¬ 
mercial  relations  with  Kokan  and  the  other  cities  imprac¬ 
ticable.  Even  the  armed  caravans,  which  were  instituted  in 
eighteen  hundred  and  twenty-four  at  a  cost  of  two  hundred  and 
thirty  thousand  rubles,  were  robbed,  and  proved  an  unprofitable 
investment.  It  was  during  the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas 
that  the  Kirgiz  were  brought  under  perfect  control.  Colonies 
of  Russians  were  planted  on  the  northeastern  shores  of  the 
Caspian  and  in  the  Trans-Irtuish  steppes.  The  Siberian  Kir¬ 
giz  rebelled  under  their  khan,  Kenisar  Kasimof,  and  were 
assisted  by  the  Kirgiz  of  Orenburg.  For  six  years  Kasimof 
defied  the  Russians,  but  was  finally  defeated  and  killed  in 
eighteen  hundred  and  forty-four.  During  the  following  three 
years  other  tribes  became  tributary  to  Russia,  and  it  proved 
to  be  necessary  to  protect  them  from  the  Kokandians  and 
Khivans  by  erecting  the  fortifications  of  Raim,  Kopal,  and 
Viernoe.  The  Khivans  were  not  especially  troublesome,  but 
the  Kokandians,  who  had  established  themselves  in  the  valley 
of  the  Syr  and  on  the  slopes  of  the  mountains,  regularly  took 
tribute  from  all  the  Kirgiz,  and  occasionally  invaded  the 
Trans-Ural  and  Tcliu  steppes,  treating  the  natives  with  the 
greatest  barbarity.  Russia  was  obliged  in  eighteen  hundred 
and  fifty-three  to  enter  into  a  war  with  Kokan.  The  prin¬ 
cipal  fort  belonging  to  Kokan  on  the  Syr  Daria  was  Ak- 
Mesjed,  or  White  Mosque,  situated  about  four  hundred  and 
eighty  kilometers  from  Aralsk.  The  first  movement  which  the 
Russians  made  against  it  was  in  July,  eighteen  hundred  and 
fifty-two,  when  they  sent  a  detachment  of  four  or  five  hundred 
men  with  two  field-pieces  under  Colonel  Blaremberg;  but, 
being  unprovided  with  the  proper  equipment,  they  succeeded 


296 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XI. 


only  in  destroying  the  outer  works.  On  their  way  down  the 
river  they  captured  three  auxiliary  fortifications.  The  follow¬ 
ing  year  the  fort  was  attacked  by  General  Perovski,  and  after 
a  three  weeks’  siege  was  taken  by  storm  on  the  twenty-seventh 
of  July.  During  the  progress  of  these  operations  a  small 
detachment  proceeded  a  hundred  versts  farther  up  the  river 
and  captured  Djulek,  which  was  the  extreme  of  Russian  ad¬ 
vance  until  the  campaign  of  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty- 
three.  After  the  heroic  defence  of  Ak-Mesjed  the  Kokandians 
made  repeated  but  unsuccessful  attempts  to  recapture  it.  The 
Russians  henceforth  held  it  and  named  it  Fort  Perovski. 

In  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty  the  Kokandian  general, 
Khanaiat  Shah,  with  an  army  of  thirty  thousand  men,  started 
to  drive  out  the  Russians  from  the  province  of  Semirietch,  or 
the  Seven  Rivers,  and  to  sack  Viernoe,  which  had  only  a  small 
garrison.  Colonel  Kolpakovski  concentrated  his  troops  at  the 
small  fort  Kastek,  at  the  foot  of  the  pass  where  the  attack  was 
expected.  But  Khanaiat  Shah  crossed  the  mountains  by 
another  route  and  attacked  Uzun-Agatch,  intending  after  he 
had  captured  it  to  blockade  Kastek,  and  thus  without  opposi¬ 
tion  to  make  himself  master  of  Viernoe.  As  soon  as  Colonel 
Kolpakovski  was  informed  by  a  messenger,  who  succeeded  in 
escaping  through  the  lines,  of  the  true  state  of  affairs,  he 
marched  out  with  eight  hundred  men  and  six  guns,  and  by 
a  flank  movement  succeeded  in  defeating  an  army  of  more 
than  fifteen  thousand  Kokandians  and  Kirgiz,  thus  completely 
establishing  the  power  of  the  Russians  north  of  the  Alai-Tau 
Mountains. 

In  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-four  it  was  planned  to  siege 
Tchimkent  and  the  city  of  Turkestan,  thus  forming  a  fortified 
line  connecting  Orenburg  and  Siberia,  and  serving  as  a  com¬ 
plete  protection  to  the  Kirgiz.  But  this  plan  was  not  carried 
out  until  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-four,  when  Colonel 
Tcherna'ief,  with  twenty-five  hundred  men  from  Siberia,  and 
Colonel  Verevkin,  with  twelve  hundred  men  from  Orenburg, 


1856-1880.] 


ALEXANDER  II. 


297 


were  detailed  to  accomplish  the  conquest.  General  Tchernaief 
took  Aulie-Ata,  or  Avliata,  by  assault  on  the  sixteenth  of  June. 
Turkestan  was  taken  about  the  same  time.  In  the  following 
October  the  two  columns  united  and  carried  Tchimkent  by 
storm.  They  thus  gained  command  of  one  of  the  richest 
{  districts  of  Kokan,  “  the  granary  of  all  the  country  between 
5/the  Tchu  and  the  Syr  Daria.”  It  was  at  this  time  that  Prince 
Gortchakof  despatched  the  celebrated  circular  note  to  the 
foreign  courts.  The  fears  of  the  English  were  somewhat 
calmed  by  its  frankness  and  candor.  But  hardly  was  it  in 
the  hands  of  its  readers  before  the  Russians  were  again  involved 
with  the  Kokandians,  who  were  irritated  at  the  encroachment 
of  their  conquerors.  In  December,  eighteen  hundred  and 
sixty-four,  Alim  Kul,  with  a  large  force,  endeavored  to  recapture 
Turkestan  the  Holy,  but  without  success.  The  Amir  of  Bu¬ 
khara,  troubled  at  the  approach  of  the  Russians,  had  already 
invaded  Kokan  and  taken  possession  of  Khodjent  and  several 
other  places.  General  Tchernaief  resolved  to  act  on  the  offen¬ 
sive.  Having  failed,  in  October,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty- 
four,  to  take  Tashkent  by  assault,  he  now  attacked  and  took 
the  small  fortress  of  Niazbek,  about  twenty -five  kilometers 
northeast  of  Tashkent,  commanding  the  water  supply  of  the 
city.  Meanwhile  the  Alim  Kul,  the  Regent  of  Kokan,  with 
six  thousand  men  and  forty  guns,  entered  Tashkent,  and  on 
the  twenty-first  of  May  attacked  the  Russian  camp,  which  had 
been  brought  down  to  within  ten  kilometers  of  the  city. 
After  a  severe  fight  the  Kokandian  army  was  driven  back  and 
Alim  Kul  was  killed.  An  embassy  was  then  sent  to  the  Amir 
of  Bukhara  offering  the  submission  of  the  city,  but  the  Amir 
demanded  as  a  hostage  the  young  khan,  Seid  Sultan.  Seid 
Sultan  was  not  disposed  to  put  himself  into  the  hands  of 
Mozaffer,  and  fled  on  the  night  of  the  twenty-first  of  June.  A 
small  party  of  Bukharians,  led  by  Ishan  Bek,  then  entered  the 
city.  General  Tchernaief  was  now  in  a  difficult  position.  He 
had  only  two  thousand  men  and  a  dozen  guns ;  the  walls  of  the 


298 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XI. 


city  were  twenty -five  kilometers  in  circumference,  and  could 
not  be  subjected  to  a  regular  siege.  He  could  not  withdraw 
and  allow  the  Amir  of  Bukhara  to  take  the  city,  nor  could  he 
meet  him  in  a  pitched  battle.  He  therefore  resolved  upon  a 
bold  stroke;  and  on  the  morning  of  the  twenty-seventh  of  June 
Captain  Abramof  surprised  the  watch  and  opened  the  Kamelan 
gate,  which  led  to  the  highest  part  of  the  town.  By  the  even¬ 
ing  of  the  following  day  the  whole  city  was  brought  to  terms. 
The  Russian  loss  was  only  twenty-five  killed  and  one  hundred 
and  seventeen  wounded,  while  that  of  the  defenders  was  about 
thirty  thousand.  The  loss  of  Tashkent,  the  commercial  em¬ 
porium  of  the  province,  a  city  of  between  fifty  thousand  and 
three  hundred  thousand  inhabitants,  was  a  death-blow  to  the 
independence  of  Kokan.  Khudai'ar,  who  had  the  prudence 
to  send  his  congratulations  to  the  Russians  upon  their  capture 
of  Khodjent  in  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-six,  was  unmolested 
for  ten  years.  He  succeeded  in  putting  down  a  series  of 
revolts  by  his  subjects,  who  were  exasperated  by  his  tyranny. 
These  revolts  broke  out  in  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-one, 
and  became  more  serious  every  year  until  eighteen  hundred 
and  seventy-five,  when,  being  abandoned  even  by  his  two 
sons,  who  joined  the  insurgents,  Khudai'ar  quitted  his  capital 
with  his  harem,  and  with  a  treasure  estimated  at  five  million 
dollars  escaped  to  Tashkent,  and  was  allowed  to  live  at  Oren¬ 
burg.  His  eldest  son,  Nasr-Eddin,  was  then  made  khan  by 
the  Russians,  but  proved  to  be  weak  and  incapable.  Having 
been  drawn  into  a  war  with  the  Russians,  he  lost  his  throne 
and  was  sent  to  Vladimir.  On  the  anniversary  of  the  em¬ 
peror’s  accession  to  the  throne  Kokan  was  annexed  under 
the  historic  name  of  Fergana.  In  process  of  time  it  bids  fair 
to  prove  Russia’s  most  valuable  possession  in  Central  Asia. 
The  population  is  variously  estimated  to  be  from  six  hundred 
thousand  to  a  million. 

The  caravan  trade  between  Bukhara  and  Russia  was  carried 
on  without  interruption  until  the  capture  of  Tashkent.  At 


1356  -1880.] 


ALEXANDER  II. 


299 


that  time  the  Amir  Mozaffar  Eddin,  again  intervening  in  the 
civil  wars  of  Kokand,  came  into  collision  with  the  Russians. 
Having  seized  Khodjent,  he  sent  a  message  to  the  Russians 
ordering  them  to  become  Mahometans  and  to  evacuate  the 
conquered  territory.  General  Tchernaief  sent  Struve,  Tatarinof, 
and  Glukhovski  to  the  khan,  who  imprisoned  them,  but  was 
obliged  to  liberate  them  after  the  battle  of  Irdjar  on  the  twen¬ 
tieth  of  May,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-six,  which  brought 
about  also  the  conquest  of  Samarkand  and  the  annexation  of  the 
district  of  the  Zarafshan.  On  the  eighteenth  of  October  the 
fortress  of  Djisakh,  the  last  important  stronghold  belonging  to 
the  khan  in  the  valley  of  the  Syr,  was  taken  by  storm  by  the 
Russians  after  a  week’s  siege.  Mozaffar  was  now  somewhat 
disposed  for  peace,  but  the  priesthood  made  use  of  the  indig¬ 
nation  of  the  people  at  the  increase  of  taxes  and  stoppage  of 
trade,  to  demand  a  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war.  In  spite 
of  the  frantic  attempts  of  the  Mollas  to  raise  the  holy  war, 
Mozaffar  was  defeated  at  Zera-Bulak,  which  led  to  the  treaty 
of  the  fifth  of  July,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-eight.  By  this 
treaty  the  Amir  promised  to  give  as  a  war  indemnity  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  twenty-five  thousand  gold  tillas,  or  about  four  hun¬ 
dred  thousand  dollars,  the  last  instalment  of  which  was  paid 
in  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy.  Bukhara  itself  would  have 
been  annexed,  had  not  the  Russian  generals  feared  to  weaken 
their  conquests  by  extending  them.  The  annexation  of  the 
province,  moreover,  is  of  comparatively  small  consequence ; 
and  as  long  as  trade  can  be  conducted  on  an  equitable  basis, 
it  is  better  for  Russia  to  treat  Bukhara  as  a  vassal  state.  The 
agriculture  of  the  country  is  not  in  as  flourishing  a  condition 
as  that  of  Kokan. 

In  July,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-seven,  by  an  imperial 
ukas,  the  organization  of  the  territories  bordering  on  China 
and  the  Central  Asian  khanates  was  changed,  and  the  govern¬ 
ment  of  Turkestan  was  created.  Alexander  placed  at  the  head 
of  it  a  governor  general,  or  iarim  padishalt ,  who  imitates  the 


300 


HISTORY  OR  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XL 


pomp  and  magnificence  of  the  Eastern  monarchs  by  whom  he 
is  surrounded.  Besides  the  viceroy,  there  were  appointed 
military  governors  for  the  two  provinces  into  which  the  new 
government  was  divided.  Prefects  or  commandants  admin¬ 
ister  the  departments  or  districts  of  the  provinces,  while  the 
nomad  population,  divided  into  auls  and  volosti,  is  governed 
by  elders  chosen  by  the  people.  The  cost  of  acquiring  nearly 
all  the  territory  occupied  by  the  Russians  in  Central  Asia  is 
given  by  Mr.  Schuyler  as  nine  hundred  thousand  rubles,  of 
which  five  hundred  thousand  were  paid  by  Bukhara.  The 
deficit  in  the  budget  for  the  five  years  following  eighteen  hun¬ 
dred  and  sixty-eight  was  nearly  nineteen  millions  of  rubles. 

THE  KHIVA  EXPEDITION. 

The  relations  of  Russia  with  Khiva  began  early  in  the 
seventeenth  century.  The  first  three  expeditions  were  made 
by  the  Cossacks  of  the  Ia'ik,  and  resulted  in  their  complete 
discomfiture.  In  June,  seventeen  hundred  and  seventeen, 
Prince  Bekovitch-Tcherkasski  was  sent  to  Khiva  by  Peter  the 
Great,  who  in  seventeen  hundred  had  been  besought  by  the 
khan  Shaniaz  to  take  his  nation  under  Russian  protection. 
Prince  Bekovitch  and  his  whole  army  were  treacherously  mas¬ 
sacred,  and  the  successive  khans,  protected  by  the  deserts 
which  girdle  the  fertile  oasis,  have  been  able  to  defy  the 
power  of  the  Russians,  whom  they  have  captured  and  enslaved 
with  impunity.  The  Perovski  expedition,  in  eighteen  hundred 
and  thirty-nine,  was  a  complete  failure,  and  the  treaty  which 
Danilevski  induced  the  khan  to  sign  in  eighteen  hundred  and 
forty-two  remained  a  dead  letter,  for  the  very  next  year  Khiva 
offered  aid  to  Kenisar,  and  soon  after  sent  forces  to  destroy 
the  new  forts  which  the  Russians  had  established  in  the 
steppe.  At  last  the  patience  of  the  government  was  exhausted. 
Mohammed  Rakhim  sent  insolent  replies  to  General  Kauf- 
mann’s  letters,  and  he  was  accused,  though  in  all  probability 


1356-1880.] 


ALEXANDER  II. 


301 


unjustly,  of  furnishing  aid  to  the  Kirgiz.  In  eighteen  hundred 
and  seventy-two  Colonel  Markozof  conducted  a  reconnoitring 
expedition  into  the  steppe,  starting  from  Ivrasnovodsk  with  the 
intention  of  getting  as  near  as  possible  to  Khiva.  Thirst  and 
privations,  together  with  the  constant  attacks  of  the  Turko¬ 
mans,  decimated  his  forces,  and  he  was  obliged  to  retreat. 
The  following  year  it  was  resolved  to  bring  the  khan  to  terms. 
Three  columns  advanced  against  Khiva  from  three  different 
sides.  Markozof,  with  twenty-two  hundred  men,  succeeded 
in  reaching  the  wells  of  Igdy  after  a  terrible  march  of  twenty- 
nine  days.  Bad  provisions,  the  intense  heat,  and  the  impru¬ 
dent  management  of  the  commander,  who  was  anxious  to  win 
the  honor  of  taking  Khiva,  caused  the  failure  of  the  expedition. 
It  returned  to  Krasnovodslc  after  nearly  two  months  of  strug¬ 
gles  in  the  desert  with  wandering  tribes  of  Turkomans. 
The  second  column,  under  command  of  General  Verevkin, 
started  from  Orenburg,  and,  after  a  comparatively  easy  march, 
reached  Khiva,  which  might  have  been  taken,  had  it  not  been 
arranged  beforehand  for  General  Kaufmann  to  be  given  the 
glory  of  the  conquest.  Kaufmann  set  out  from  Tashkent, 
and  after  a  severe  march  through  the  Kizil-Kum  desert,  where 
nearly  nine  tenths  of  his  ten  thousand  camels  perished,  and 
where  the  whole  expedition  was  very  nearly  lost,  he  arrived  at 
Khiva,  and  on  the  tenth  of  June  he  received  the  peaceful  sub¬ 
mission  of  the  city.  According  to  all  accounts,  however,  the 
glory  of  the  conquest  belonged  to  General  Verevkin’s  detach¬ 
ment.  The  vanquished  khan  acknowledged  himself  the 
“  obedient  servant  ”  of  the  White  Tsar,  and  renounced  the 
right  of  entertaining  direct  relations  with  neighboring  sover¬ 
eigns  and  khans.  The  portion  of  his  states  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  Amu  Daria  and  the  delta  of  the  river  as  far  as  the  Tal- 
dik  branch  was  annexed.  The  free  navigation  of  the  Amu 
was  reserved  exclusively  to  Russians,  who  were  to  be  permitted 
also  to  construct  harbors  and  piers  on  the  left  bank,  under  the 
protection  of  the  khan.  Extensive  mercantile  and  agricultural 


302  HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA.  [Chap.  XI. 

privileges  were  secured;  all  the  towns  and  villages  were  opened 
to  Russian  trade,  for  the  safety  of  which  the  Khivan  govern¬ 
ment  held  itself  answerable.  Complaints  and  claims  against 
Khivan  subjects  were  to  be  immediately  settled  by  the  Khivan 
authorities.  Quarrels  with  Russian  subjects  living  in  the 
khanate  were  to  be  decided  by  the  nearest  Russian  author¬ 
ities.  A  fine  of  two  million  two  hundred  thousand  rubles 
was  imposed  upon  the  Khivan  government  as  a  partial  offset 
to  the  war,  which  cost  the  Russians  probably  three  times  as 
much ;  but  in  consideration  of  the  condition  of  the  country  the 
payment  was  extended  over  a  period  of  twenty  years,  the  bal¬ 
ance  each  year  bearing  five  per  cent  interest.  The  Turkomans 
were  declared  Russian  subjects  in  eighteen  hundred  and  sev¬ 
enty-five,  and  the  khan,  deprived  of  the  tribute  which  he  had 
collected  from  them,  and  despised  by  his  subjects  for  his  sub¬ 
missiveness,  found  his  difficulties  constantly  increasing.  In 
eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-six  he  entreated  to  be  allowed 
to  exchange  his  domains  for  a  pension.  The  reply  was  not 
given  immediately,  but  annexation  is  only  a  question  of  time. 
In  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-three  only  the  fear  of  a  con¬ 
flict  with  England,  a  consequence  which  was  averted  by  Count 
Shuvalof’s  mission  to  London,  prevented  the  reduction  of 
Khiva  to  the  condition  of  a  Russian  province. 

The  Kirgiz  and  Turkomans  being  subdued,  Kokan  and 
Samarkand  annexed,  Khiva  and  Bukhara  tributary  states,  only 
one  of  the  princes  of  Central  Asia  still  defied  the  Russians. 
This  was  Iakub,  Khan  of  Kashgar,  who,  with  his  army  of 
forty  thousand  men,  disciplined  by  Polish  or  Anglo-Indian 
officers,  with  his  arsenals  and  his  foundries,  made  headway 
against  the  “  Infidels  ”  and  defended  the  passes  of  the  moun¬ 
tains.  In  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy  General  Kolpakovski 
anticipated  Iakub  Khan  by  occupying  the  Chinese  province  of 
Kuldja,  from  which  the  rebellious  Mussulmans  had  expelled 
the  troops  of  the  Celestial  Empire  after  the  most  frightful 
massacres,  and  which  the  khan  coveted.  The  Russian  gov- 


1856-1880.] 


ALEXANDER  II. 


303 


eminent  was  not  pleased  at  this  accession  of  territory,  and 
immediately  informed  the  Chinese  Emperor  of  the  occupation 
of  the  province  and  of  its  willingness  to  restore  it  to  China 
as  soon  as  a  sufficient  force  was  brought  to  preserve  order. 
China,  however,  did  not  care  about  it,  and  meanwhile  it  has 
been  administered  by  the  Russians. 

In  June,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-two,  a  commercial 
treaty  was  signed  with  Iakub,  who  for  the  first  time  was 
recognized  by  Russia  as  an  independent  sovereign.  Never¬ 
theless,  the  caravans  which  were  sent  to  Kashgar  were  molested 
and  robbed.  The  Russians  made  further  advances  by  occupy¬ 
ing  the  valley  of  the  Naryn  and  building  Fort  Narynsk. 
Their  support  of  the  Chinese  caused  Iakub  unexpected  diffi¬ 
culty.  Iakub  the  Badaulet,  or  Fortunate,  was  assassinated  in 
eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-seven.  After  his  death  the 
Chinese  entered  Eastern  Turkestan.  In  December,  eighteen 
hundred  and  seventy-seven,  they  captured  Yarkand,  Kashgar, 
and  Khotan.  Kuli  Bek,  the  oldest  son  and  the  successor  of 
Iakub,  took  refuge  in  Russian  territory,  and  Eastern  Turkestan 
was  again  in  the  hands  of  the  Celestials. 

The  character  of  Russian  colonization  is  thus  described  by 
M.  Cucheval-Clarigny :  “  All  these  enterprises  will  profit  civili¬ 
zation  at  the  same  time  that  they  consolidate  the  Russian 
power ;  but  the  chief  strength  of  the  latter  lies  in  the  qualities 
which  make  of  the  Russian  soldier  the  most  admirable  instru¬ 
ment  of  conquest  and  colonization.  Docile  as  well  as  brave, 
easily  contented,  supporting  without  complaint  all  fatigues 
and  privations,  and  ready  for  everything,  the  Russian  soldier 
constructs  roads,  clears  canals,  and  re-establishes  the  ancient 
aqueducts.  He  makes  the  bricks  with  which  he  builds  the 
forts  and  the  barracks  which  he  inhabits ;  he  fabricates  his 
own  cartridges  and  projectiles ;  he  is  a  mason,  a  metal-founder, 
or  a  carpenter,  according  to  the  need  of  the  hour,  and  the  day 
after  he  is  dismissed  he  contentedly  follows  the  plough.  With 
such  instruments  at  its  disposal,  the  Russian  power  will  never 


304 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XI. 


give  way :  a  few  years  will  suffice  to  render  final  the  conquest 
of  any  land  on  which  it  has  set  foot.” 

In  these  countries,  for  centuries  devastated  and  dishonored 
by  Mussulman  fanaticism,  by  wars  between  the  khans,  by 
brigandage,  and  by  traffic  in  slaves,  the  Russians  appear  as 
the  soldiers  of  civilization,  and  as  a  general  thing  bring  with 
them  a  more  humane  and  equitable  rule.  Following  on  the 
banks  of  the  Oxus  and  Iaxartes  the  traces  of  Alexander  the 
Great,  they  complete  the  revenge  of  the  Iranian  race  against 
the  Turanian  peoples,  who,  under  the  lead  of  Tchingis  Khan, 
invaded  semi- Greek  Baktria  and  ruined  the  ancient  Mace¬ 
donian  colonies. 


RELATIONS  WITH  CHINA,  JAPAN,  AND  THE  UNITED 

STATES. 

In  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  Siberian  Cos¬ 
sacks,  by  their  ambition  for  conquest,  disquieted  the  Chinese 
government.  The  first  embassy  for  the  purpose  of  establish¬ 
ing  commercial  relations  was  sent  by  the  Tsar  Alexis  in  six¬ 
teen  hundred  and  fifty-four,  but  neither  this  nor  the  succeed¬ 
ing  attempts  met  with  success.  By  the  treaty  signed  in  Fort 
Niptchu  at  Nertchinsk,  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  August, 
sixteen  hundred  and  eighty-nine,  the  Chinese  shut  off  the 
Russians  from  the  Pacific  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  years,  and 
kept  control  of  the  left  bank  of  the  Amur  in  spite  of  the 
attempts  of  the  governors  of  East  Siberia  to  regain  it.  The 
Russian  government  confined  trade  with  China  to  the  trans- 
Baikal  boundary  town  of  Kiakhta,  and  the  caravan  trade,  con¬ 
firmed  by  the  treaty  of  Burinsk  in  seventeen  hundred  and 
twenty-seven,  was  given  up.  In  eighteen  hundred  and  forty 
the  English  declared  war  upon  China,  and  the  Celestial  author¬ 
ities  went  to  the  Russian  legation  at  Pekin  for  counsel  and 
assistance.  The  Russian  government  did  not  take  advantage 
of  this  state  of  affairs,  but  contented  itself  with  the  treaty  of 


3856  -  1880.] 


ALEXANDER  11. 


Kuldja,  by  which  trade  with  Western  China  was  legalized. 
The  operations  of  Count  Nikolai  Muravief  upon  the  Amur 
resulted,  in  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-three,  in  the  foundation 
of  several  forts,  which  did  not  attract  much  attention  in  China 
in  consequence  of  internal  disturbances  and  English  complica¬ 
tions.  In  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-six  the  lands  along  the 
Lower  Amur  were  incorporated  into  the  province  of  Kamtchatka 
under  the  title  of  East  Siberia,  the  capital  of  which  was  Ni- 
kolaievsk.  Admiral  Putiatin  went  to  Tien-tsin  in  August, 
eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-seven,  for  the  purpose  of  reaching 
a  diplomatic  understanding.  The  treaty  of  Tien-tsin  gave  the 
Western  Powers  the  right  of  establishing  representatives  at 
Pekin. 

The  following  year,  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  May,  Muravief 
concluded  the  treaty  of  Aigun,  which  secured  to  Russia  all  the 
left  bank  of  the  river  Amur,  a  territory  of  two  million  square 
kilometers,  which  has  since  been  divided  into  the  province  of 
the  Amur  and  the  Maritime  Province.  By  the  same  treaty 
the  right  of  navigating  the  tributary  rivers,  Zungari  and  Usuri, 
was  granted  to  Russian  traders.  The  treaty  of  Aigun  was 
confirmed  by  that  of  Tien-tsin,  signed  by  Putiatin  on  the 
thirteenth  of  June,  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-eight,  and 
Russia  was  also  assured  all  the  advantages  which  Prance  and 
England  had  gained.  General  Ignatief,  in  March  of  the  fol¬ 
lowing  year,  went  by  way  of  Kiakhta  to  his  post  as  ambas¬ 
sador  in  Pekin,  where  his  indefatigable  endeavors  for  still 
pleasanter  relations  met  with  gratifying  success.  The  steam¬ 
boats  of  the  Amur  Company  plough  the  waters  of  the  river 
for  twenty-four  hundred  kilometers,  from  Nertchinsk  to  the 
sea,  and  place  Russia  in  direct  communication  with  San  Pran- 
cisco  and  the  islands  of  the  Pacific.  In  eighteen  hundred  and 
sixty  maritime  Mantchuria  was  annexed,  and  the  plan  was 
broached  of  transferring  the  capital  from  Nikola'ievsk  to  Vladi¬ 
vostok,  which  is  connected  with  Saint  Petersburg  by  a  telegraph 
wholly  on  Russian  soil.  In  eighteen  hundred  and  seven ty- 

VOL.  in.  20 


306 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XI. 


eight  Kuldja  had  become  the  most  prosperous  of  the  imperial 
provinces  of  Central  Asia.  Tso  Tsung  Tang  preferred  a 
formal  demand  of  the  province,  and  toward  the  close  of  the 
year  Chung  How  was  sent  to  Saint  Petersburg  to  negotiate  a 
treaty.  Six  months  were  spent  in  fruitless  endeavors  to  come 
to  terms.  At  last  Chung  How  was  induced  to  sign  a  conven¬ 
tion  by  which  China  should  take  possession  of  a  portion  of 
Kuldja,  pay  Russia  an  indemnity  of  five  million  rubles,  and 
grant  Russian  subjects  the  right  of  trade.  Chung  How  was 
degraded  on  his  return,  the  treaty  was  abrogated,  and  great 
preparations  were  made  for  war.  The  forts  on  the  Pe'iho  were 
furnished  with  Krupp  cannon,  the  fleet  was  strengthened  by 
iron-clads  with  twenty-five  ton  guns,  and  a  well-disciplined 
army  of  one  hundred  thousand  men  was  ready  to  appeal  to 
arms.  The  peace  party,  however,  prevailed,  and  hostilities, 
if  not  averted  forever,  were  at  least  postponed. 

Russian  dealings  with  the  insular  empire  of  Japan  began 
in  the  eighteenth  century.  In  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty 
some  Japanese  were  shipwrecked  on  the  coast  of  Siberia,  and 
were  obliged  to  teach  the  Japanese  language  at  Irkutsk.  This 
was  the  first  of  the  Eastern  languages  to  be  officially  taught. 
In  eighteen  hundred  and  three  the  circumnavigation  of  the 
world  was  accomplished  by  Russian  ships  for  the  first  time. 
The  commander  made  a  stop  at  Japan,  but  his  actions  were 
injurious  to  Russian  interests.  A  half-century  later  Admiral 
Putiatin  explored  the  Chinese  waters,  and  on  the  seventh  of 
February,  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-five,  signed  the  treaty  of 
Simoda,  which  opened  to  Russian  trade  the  ports  of  Simoda, 
Hakodade,  and  Nagasaki.  Two  years  before  this  the  Russian 
American  Company  took  possession  of  the  northern  portion  of 
the  island  of  Sagalin,  known  to  the  Japanese  as  Karafuto,  in 
relation  to  which  Japanese  envoys  were  sent  to  Saint  Peters¬ 
burg.  Finally,  in  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-seven  a  conven¬ 
tion  was  signed  by  Stremulkof  on  the  part  of  Russia,  and  by 
Koide  no  Kami  and  Ishikawa  Kawachi  no  Kami  on  the  part  of 


1856-1880.] 


ALEXANDER  II. 


307 


Japan,  in  accordance  with  which  the  island  was  to  be  jointly 
occupied  by  the  two  nations.  In  eighteen  hundred  and  sev¬ 
enty-five  Russia  ceded  to  Japan  the  Kurile  Islands,  and  in  re¬ 
turn  occupied  the  whole  of  Sagalin.  The  coal-fields  of  Dui 
promise  to  prove  very  valuable. 

The  relations  of  Russia  with  the  United  States  hiyealways 
been  very  friendly.  The  first  treaty,  concluded  in  eighteen 
hundred  and  twenty-four,  declared  the  navigation  and  fisheries 
of  the  Pacific  free  to  both  nations,  and  regulated  the  sup¬ 
pression  of  illicit  trade.  In  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-two 
a  second  convention  was  signed  by  James  Buchanan  and 
Count  Nesselrode,  guaranteeing  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States  the  right  to  enter  the  ports,  places,  and  rivers  of  the 
Alaskan  territory  under  the  full  protection  of  the  government. 
On  the  thirtieth  of  March,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-seven, 
Russia  sold  to  the  United  States,  for  a  sum  of  seven  million  two 
hundred  thousand  dollars  in  gold,  its  possessions  in  the  north 
of  the  continent,  amounting  to  one  million  four  hundred  and 
eighty  thousand  square  kilometers,  with  a  population  estimated 
at  seventy-five  thousand,  mostly  Indians.  Although  Russian 
America  was  discovered  by  Russian  traders  as  early  as  the 
first  half  of  the  seventeenth  century,  it  was  not  until  the  death 
of  Peter  the  Great  that  Captain  Behring,  a  native  of  Jutland, 
in  the  Russian  service,  was  sent  to  make  investigations.  After 
a  two  years’  voyage  in  which,  by  his  timidity  and  indolence, 
he  failed  to  carry  out  any  of  his  instructions,  he  returned  to 
Saint  Petersburg.  Throughout  the  century  various  trading  ex¬ 
peditions  were  organized.  In  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy- 
nine  Catherine  made  a  decree  that  the  Aleuts  should  pay 
tribute  and  have  dealings  only  with  Russian  companies.  In 
seventeen  hundred  and  ninety-nine  the  Emperor  Paul  gave  a 
charter  to  the  Russian  American  Company,  which  henceforth 
controlled  all  the  coasts  of  America  north  of  fifty-five  degrees 
north  latitude.  In  consequence  of  an  unfavorable  report  upon 
the  management  of  the  company  by  Pavel  Golovin,  the  charter 


308 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XI. 


was  not  renewed.  The  average  annual  income  of  the  com¬ 
pany  for  the  twenty-one  years  preceding  its  dissolution  was 
upwards  of  nine  hundred  and  sixty-six  thousand  silver  rubles. 
The  original  capital  of  the  company  was  ninety-eight  thousand 
silver  rubles.  The  average  annual  tax  paid  to  the  Russian 
crown  is  stated  by  Mr.  William  H.  Dali  to  have  been  two 
hundred  thousand  rubles.  On  the  eighteenth  of  October, 
eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-seven,  the  Russian  Commission 
formally  transferred  the  “  territory,  dominion,  property,  depen¬ 
dencies,  and  appurtenances  ”  of  Russian  America  to  General 
Rousseau.  The  transfer  was  made  under  mutual  salutes  of 
artillery,  and  since  that  time  the  United  States  has  controlled 
this  province,  whose  value  has  been  the  subject  of  much 
dispute. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


ALEXANDER  THE  SECOND. 

European  Relations  from  1856  until  1877. 

Austria  and  Italy.  —  Prussia  and  Denmark.  —  Imperial  Inter¬ 
views;  the  Franco-Prussian  War.  —  The  Prussian  Alliance. — 
Gortchakof’s  Circular  Note  of  1871.  —  Reorganization  of 

the  Army. 


AUSTRIA  AND  ITALY. 

IN  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-six  Prince  Alexander  Gort- 
chakof  succeeded  Count  Nesselrode  as  Chancellor  of  the 
Empire.  The  necessity  under  which  the  country  was  placed, 
of  recovering  from  the  consequences  of  the  Eastern  war,  was 
expressed  in  one  of  his  earliest  circulars :  “  Russia  is  not  sulk¬ 
ing,  it  is  convalescing.”  Peace  with  the  great  powers  was 
absolutely  essential  in  order  to  carry  out  the  reforms  of  which 
the  Empire  stood  in  need. 

Russia,  however,  was  able  to  repay  Austria  for  the  part  it 
took  in  the  Crimean  war.  Austria’s  plans  for  getting  a  pre¬ 
ponderating  influence  in  the  Danube  states  were  upset  by  the 
counter-game  which  Russia  played  in  the  Paris  conferences. 
By  the  convention  of  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-eight,  the 
Principalities  of  Yalakhia  and  Moldavia  were  allowed  to  be¬ 
come  one  state,  which  bore  the  historic  name  of  Rumania. 
In  spite  of  the  protests  of  the  Porte  and  the  convention  of 
the  nineteenth  of  August,  Russia,  supported  by  Prance,  which 
had  already  grown  cold  to  its  old  ally,  Austria,  caused  Prince 
Alexander  Kuza  to  be  raised  to  the  throne.  In  Serbia  the 


310 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XII. 


revolution  of  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-eight  resulted  in  the 
deposition  of  Prince  Alexander  Karaiurevitch  and  the  re-estab¬ 
lishment  of  the  old  prince,  Milosh  Obrenovitch,  a  faithful 
friend  and  vassal  of  Russia.  At  the  conferences  of  Paris 
there  was  a  visible  growth  of  good  feeling  between  Russia 
and  Prance.  Prance  favored  the  demands  of  the  Rumanians, 
Serbians,  and  Montenegrins  against  Turkey,  and  was  graciously 
pleased  to  respond  to  Prince  Gortchakof’s  observations  on 
“  the  wretched  and  precarious  situation  ”  of  the  Christians  of 
Bosnia,  the  Herzegovina,  and  Bulgaria.  Russia  was  disposed 
to  keep  neutral  in  regard  to  the  complications  in  Italy.  It 
proposed  a  conference  to  settle  the  difficulties  without  recur¬ 
ring  to  a  European  war.  The  programme,  which  was  sup¬ 
ported  by  Prance,  included  peace  between  Austria  and 
Sardinia,  evacuation  of  the  Papal  States  by  the  French  and 
Austrians,  a  confederation  of  the  small  Italian  States,  and  a 
deliberation  touching  the  reforms  to  be  effected  in  Rome, 
Naples,  and  the  rest  of  Italy.  The  other  great  powers  willingly 
acceded  to  this  proposal ;  but  Austria,  feeling  that  it  was  derog¬ 
atory  to  be  put  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  small  state  of 
Sardinia,  added  such  conditions  that  the  Congress  was  aban¬ 
doned.  The  Austrian  troops  then  crossed  the  Tessin.  Russia’s 
firmness  prevented  a  general  European  war.  The  Italian 
revolution  was  allowed  to  take  its  course.  Peace  was  declared 
on  the  seventeenth  of  October  between  Prance  and  Austria. 
In  March,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-one,  Victor  Emanuel 
took  the  title  of  King  of  Italy,  and  in  August  of  the  following 
year  Alexander  formally  granted  him  recognition,  and  soon 
after  signed  a  commercial  treaty  with  him.  But  while  Russia 
acceded  to  the  Emancipation  of  Italy,  it  was  not  so  ready  to 
favor  that  of  the  Christians  in  the  East.  It  applauded  the 
French  occupation  of  Syria  in  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty,  at 
the  time  when  the  Druses  massacred  the  Christians  of  Pales¬ 
tine,  and  would  have  even  wished  it  to  be  more  important 
and  more  prolonged. 


1856-1877.] 


ALEXANDER  IL 


311 


But  the  diplomatic  demonstration  of  France  in  eighteen 
hundred  and  sixty-three,  arising  from  Polish  affairs,  destroyed 
the  growing  intimacy  of  the  two  states,  and  threw  Russia  into 
the  Prussian  alliance.  To  maintain  this  the  Russian  Chancel¬ 
lor  made  irreparable  sacrifices  to  Bismarck,  “  the  man  of  blood 
and  iron.” 

PRUSSIA  AND  DENMARK. -IMPERIAL  INTERVIEWS; 

THE  FRANCO-PRUSSIAN  WAR. 

When  it  seemed  likely  that  the  royal  line  of  Denmark 
would  be  extinguished  by  the  death  of  Frederic  the  Seventh, 
Duke  Christian  of  Augustenburg,  the  heir  apparent,  was  forced 
to  accept  an  indemnity  of  two  million  thalers  and  renounce 
his  right  in  favor  of  the  collateral  line  of  Holstein-Sonderburg- 
Gliicksburg.  This  settlement  was  considered  at  the  time  of 
doubtful  legality,  and  when  Christian  the  Fourth,  of  Gliicks- 
burg,  mounted  the  throne,  Duke  Frederic  of  Augustenburg 
protested  that  his  father’s  abdication  was  not  binding  on  his 
posterity.  The  German  Confederation  took  up  the  cause  of 
Frederic,  and  declared  war  against  Christian  the  Fourth  in 
eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-four.  Russia  allowed  Denmark 
to  be  crushed.  It  was  obliged  to  give  up  Schleswig-Holstein 
and  pay  an  indemnity.  Russia’s  former  relations  with  Den¬ 
mark  were  renewed,  however,  in  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty- 
six,  when  the  Tsesarevitch,  Alexander,  was  married  to  the 
Princess  Dagmar,  the  daughter  of  King  Christian  the  Fourth. 
She  had  been  betrothed  to  Alexander’s  oldest  brother,  who 
died  at  Nice  in  April,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-five. 

After  the  Danish  war  was  ended,  Austria  and  Prussia  had 
a  dispute  as  to  the  possession  of  Plolstein.  The  question  at 
issue  was  in  reality  of  deeper  moment,  and  involved  the 
supremacy  over  Germany.  War  was  only  postponed  by  the 
convention  of  Gastein  on  the  fourteenth  of  August,  eighteen 
hundred  and  sixty-five,  by  which  Prussia  assumed  temporary 
sovereignty  of  Schleswig,  Austria  of  Holstein ;  and  Lauenburg, 


312 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XII. 


on  the  payment  of  two  and  a  half  million  Danish  dollars,  went 
to  the  Prussian  Emperor.  Although  Gortchakof  made  no 
formal  alliance  with  Bismarck  in  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty- 
six,  Russia  allowed  Prussia  not  only  to  expel  Austria  from  the 
Germanic  Confederation,  but  to  dethrone  the  reigning  houses 
of  Planover,  Nassau,  and  Cassel,  all  of  them  more  or  less  nearly 
related  to  the  imperial  house  of  Russia.  Those  of  Darmstadt, 
Baden,  and  Wiirtemberg,  which  had  given  emperors  to  Russia, 
were  subordinated  so  as  to  constitute  Germany,  formerly  in¬ 
offensive,  into  a  mighty  military  power,  holding  on  the  Baltic, 
the  Vistula,  and  the  Danube  interests  diametrically  opposed  to 
those  of  Russia. 

The  Emperor  of  the  Erench  had  long  been  desirous  of  ter¬ 
ritorial  extension  toward  the  east,  and  the  peculiarly  loose 
relationship  which  Luxemburg  bore  to  Germany  after  the 
Austro-Prussian  war  and  the  dissolution  of  the  German  Bund 
offered  the  requisite  opportunity.  Prussia  was  requested  to 
withdraw  its  troops  from  the  Grand  Duchy ;  when  this  was 
not  done  the  war  feeling  in  Prance  rose  to  a  fever  heat. 
Pacific  measures  were  proposed  by  Prince  Gortchakof.  A 
conference  was  opened  in  London  on  the  seventh  of  May, 
eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-seven,  in  which  the  five  great 
powers,  together  with  Belgium,  Holland,  and  Italy,  decided 
that  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Luxemburg  should  be  erected  into 
a  neutral  sovereign  state  under  the  house  of  Nassau  and 
Orange.  The  King  of  Prussia  then  agreed  to  withdraw  his 
troops  from  the  castle.  Only  the  great  Paris  Exposition  pre¬ 
vented  the  Erench  from  expressing  their  disapproval  of  this 
treaty  by  a  declaration  of  war. 

In  June,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy,  the  sovereigns  of 
Prussia  and  Russia  had  an  interview  at  Ems ;  on  the  ninth 
of  July  Prince  Gortchakof  told  the  English  ambassador  that 
Russia  did  not  feel  at  all  alarmed  at  the  power  of  Prussia ; 
but  this  confidence  was  to  be  put  to  a  new  proof.  Eour  weeks 
after  the  interview  at  Ems  the  Eranco- German  war  broke  out. 


1856-  1877.] 


ALEXANDER  II. 


313 


The  official  journal  of  Russia  said  :  “  The  imperial  government 
has  made  every  endeavor  to  avert  the  war.  Unfortunately,  the 
rapidity  with  which  hostile  resolutions  were  taken  rendered 
nugatory  our  efforts  for  the  maintenance  of  peace.  The  Em¬ 
peror  is  resolved  to  observe  neutrality  so  long  as  Russian 
interests  are  not  disturbed  by  the  results  of  the  campaign. 
The  Russian  government  assures  its  support  to  all  endeavors 
calculated  to  limit  the  operations  and  to  shorten  the  duration 
of  the  war.” 

This  threat  of  protecting  Russian  interests  was  extremely 
disagreeable  to  Austria.  Count  Andrassy  made  public  decla¬ 
ration  that  although  Hungary  had  nothing  to  win  by  partici¬ 
pating  in  the  war,  and  much  to  lose,  yet,  rather  than  allow  a 
Russo-Prussian  alliance,  it  would  be  justified  in  taking  such 
a  step.  “  The  instant  Russia  enters  the  war,”  said  the  Hun¬ 
garian  minister,  “  it  will  find  us  also  on  the  battle-field ;  and 
Russia’s  ally,  whoever  he  may  be,  will  be  our  enemy.  We 
have  declared  this  publicly  many  times  during  the  last  twelve 
months,  and  yet  once  more  we  repeat  it:  Hungary,  and  Austria 
as  well,  has  only  one  natural  opponent  in  Europe,  and  that  is 
Russia.  To  this  opponent  we  will  give  battle  wheresoever  and 
with  whomsoever  we  find  him,  and  welcome  is  any  ally  who 
comes  to  our  aid  against  Russia.” 

Russia,  on  the  other  hand,  declared  that  the  moment  Austria 
attempted  to  assist  the  French,  the  Prussian  frontiers  would 
be  protected  by  Russian  troops.  Prussia  was  thus  enabled  to 
withdraw  its  troops  from  Silesia  and  Poznania  and  bring  them 
into  active  service.  The  menacing  attitude  of  Russia  toward 
Austria  carried  with  it  Italian  neutrality,  and  in  the  same  way 
Denmark  was  kept  from  entering  the  conflict,  although  Danish 
sympathies  were  strongly  pronounced  in  favor  of  the  French, 
and  the  Marseillaise  Hymn  was  sung  with  fervor  at  the  recep¬ 
tion  of  the  French  fleet. 

After  the  battle  of  Metz,  when  England  tried  to  prevent 
Prussia  from  taking  Alsace  and  Lorraine,  Russia  again  came 


314 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XII. 


to  the  assistance  of  William  the  First,  and  protested  that  after 
the  immense  expenditure  of  blood  and  treasure  it  was  right 
that  the  Prussians  should  receive  a  proper  compensation. 
Prance  found  itself  isolated  in  Europe.  Russia  had  not  only 
prevented  the  formation  of  the  “  league  of  neutrals/'  but  by 
diplomatic  means  had  discouraged  the  collective  intervention 
of  Europe. 

On  the  third  of  September  the  Emperor,  hearing  of  his 
uncle’s  victory  at  Sedan  and  the  surrender  of  Napoleon,  drank 
his  health,  and  broke  the  glass  to  give  his  toast  greater  solem¬ 
nity.  On  the  twenty-seventh  of  February,  eighteen  hundred 
and  seventy -one,  the  Prussian  monarch  sent  this  telegram, 
announcing  the  capture  of  Paris :  “  We  have  thus  reached  the 
end  of  this  glorious  and  bloody  war,  which  was  forced  upon 
us  by  the  frivolity  of  the  French.  Prussia  will  never  forget 
that  she  owes  it  to  you  that  the  war  did  not  enter  upon 
extreme  dimensions.”  Alexander  immediately  replied,  offer¬ 
ing  his  sincere  congratulations  and  sympathy  as  a  “  devoted 
friend.”  The  understanding  between  William  and  Alexander 
was  not  broken  by  the  nephew’s  advice  to  use  moderation ; 
in  the  words  of  M.  Soul :  “  This  intimate  and  sympathetic  ex¬ 
change  of  private  letters  did  not  for  a  moment  alter  the  friend¬ 
ship  of  the  two  sovereigns.  The  King  of  Prussia  received  the 
observations  of  his  nephew  without  impatience ;  and  the  Tsar, 
although  his  entreaties  always  remained  fruitless,  was  never 
affronted  by  the  refusals  of  his  uncle.” 

The  mission  of  M.  Thiers  at  Saint  Petersburg  in  Septem¬ 
ber,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy,  had  no  results.  He  had 
audiences  with  Prince  Gortchakof,  with  Alexander  Alexandro- 
vitch,  with  the  Emperor  himself.  But  he  received  only  soft 
words ;  among  others,  that  “  the  former  enemy  of  France  would 
do  more  for  it  than  its  former  ally,  England.”  The  Emperor 
said :  “  I  cannot  express  to  you  how  grieved  I  am  to  see  your 
country  in  so  desperate  a  situation.  I  can  only  advise  moder¬ 
ation,  as  I  have  always  done ;  and  I  assure  you  that  King 


1856-1877.] 


ALEXANDER  II. 


315 


William  will  be  as  magnanimous  in  peace  as  he  was  great 
and  victorious  in  war.”  Thiers’s  check  in  Russia  caused  his 
efforts  in  Austria,  Italy,  and  England  to  remain  fruitless.  He 
had  counted  on  other  influences  in  Russia.  He  knew  well 
that  there  was  a  certain  party  which  looked  askance  upon  the 
gigantic  strides  Prussia  was  taking  in  Europe,  and  the  nation 
did  not  contemplate  the  fall  of  Prance  and  the  overthrow  of 
the  equilibrium  of  Europe  in  favor  of  Prussia  with  the  same 
eyes  as  did  the  government.  Subscriptions  were  everywhere 
opened  for  the  benefit  of  the  wounded  French,  and  the  news 
of  the  smallest  successes  of  France  excited  public  joy.  Mr. 
Eugene  Schuyler,  the  charge  d'affaires  of  the  United  States, 
wrote  to  his  government  under  date  of  the  seventeenth  of 
August,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy :  “  Great  exertions  are 
being  made  here  to  induce  the  government  to  abandon  its 
neutrality  and  to  declare  itself  on  one  side  or  the  other.  It 
seems  to  be  the  general  opinion  that  if  the  country  were  pre¬ 
pared  for  war  it  would  declare  it  and  try  to  draw  from  it  cer¬ 
tain  political  advantages,  such  as  a  revision  of  the  treaty  of 
Paris  and  territorial  extensions  on  the  Black  or  Baltic  Sea.  The 
feeling  in  favor  of  France  is  perhaps  stronger  since  the  recent 
successes  of  Prussia,  and  the  leading  journals  have  every  day 
articles  showing  how  unfortunate  for  Europe  and  for  free 
government  would  be  the  increase  and  consolidation  of  a  great 
military  power  like  North  Germany.  .  .  .  The  officers  of  the 
army  are  said  to  be  nearly  unanimous  in  favor  of  France  and 
of  a  war  with  Prussia,  and  I  know  of  several  occasions  when 
toasts  have  been  drunk  to  the  ruin  of  the  Germans  and  of 
‘Fritz.’  It  is  difficult  to  see  how  Russia  would  gain  any 
advantage  by  taking  part  in  a  war  of  this  kind  even  if  Austria 
were  engaged.  Meanwhile  the  government  is  using  every 
effort  to  prepare  for  eventualities.  It  is  impossible  not  to 
notice  that  the  vicinities  of  all  the  barracks  show  a  great  stir. 
Hospital  wagons  and  camp  equipage  are  being  repaired  and 
put  in  order.  The  cartridge  factories  are  running  constantly 


316 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XII. 


day  and  night,  turning  out  about  half  a  million  metallic  shells 
daily.  These  are  now  being  filled  and  sent  to  the  frontier  in 
large  quantities.  .  .  .  The  late  successes  of  the  German  army 
have  directed  attention  to  the  vulnerable  points  of  Russia  in 
case  of  the  complete  victory  of  Prussia.  There  are  two,  Poland 
and  the  Baltic  provinces.  ...  In  the  Baltic  provinces  all  the 
political  power  is  possessed  by  some  two  hundred  thousand 
German  nobles  and  merchants,  who  still  keep  the  privileges 
granted  them  by  Peter  the  Great  on  the  conquest  of  the 
country,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  two  millions  of  natives  and 
Prussians  who  do  not  speak  German.  Any  attempt  of  the 
Imperial  Government  to  introduce  the  Russian  language 
instead  of  the  German  as  the  official  language,  or  to  make 
liberal  reforms  in  the  judicial  proceedings  or  in  the  city  gov¬ 
ernment,  is  vigorously  resisted  by  the  Germans,  who  imme¬ 
diately  cry  out  that  they  are  oppressed  and  persecuted.  Their 
leaders  have  more  than  once  pointed  to  Prussia  as  their  natural 
defender  and  protector,  and  there  is  a  party  in  Prussia  which 
has  espoused  their  cause,  and  threatens  difficulties  with  the 
Russian  government.  These  questions  indeed  in  the  North 
German  Reichstag  have  always  been  evaded  and  opposed  by 
the  Prussian  government ;  but  people  here  think  that  should 
Prussia  be  successful  and  Germany  become  united,  a  strong 
effort  will  be  made  to  make  the  Baltic  question  an  international 
one,  to  claim  the  Baltic  provinces  as  part  of  Germany  and  to 
detach  them  from  Russia.” 

THE  PRUSSIAN  ALLIANCE. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Bestuzhef-Riumin,  the  chancellor 
of  Elisabeth,  finding  the  Prussia  of  Frederick  the  Second  too 
powerful,  and  the  annexation  of  Silesia  disquieting  for  Russia, 
fought  the  seven  years’  war  to  “  diminish  the  forces  ”  of  his 
ambitious  neighbor.  Alexander  the  First  dared  all  the  power 
of  Napoleon  for  the  sake  of  Oldenburg  and  the  Hanse  Towns, 


1856-1877  •] 


ALEXANDER  II. 


317 


and  it  was  not  strange  that  the  Russians,  who  were  well  aware 
of  what  Prussia  had  gained  by  this  ten  years’  alliance,  should 
feel  somewhat  jealous.  Prussia  had  acquired  provinces  and 
kingdoms,  fortified  harbors,  and  a  formidable  army,  and  was 
mistress  of  the  situation.  Charles  of  Hohenzollern-Sigma- 
ringen,  a  prince  related  to  the  royal  family  of  Germany,  was 
firmly  established  on  the  throne  of  Rumania,  and  thus  secured 
Prussia’s  influence  in  the  East.  Russia  had  recognized  the 
formation  of  the  German  Empire  on  the  twenty-fourth  of 
January,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-one;  the  Tsar  gave  the 
military  order  of  Saint  George  to  the  Crown  Prince  of  Saxony ; 
the  princes  Frederick  William  and  Frederick  Charles  bore  the 
title  of  Russian  field-marshals. 

Although  the  demands  of  the  Baltic  writers  found  an  echo 
in  public  meetings  and  in  the  press  of  Berlin,  and  although  it 
was  a  significant  fact  that  Herr  Kattner  dedicated  to  the  Ger¬ 
man  army  his  book  on  the  “  Mission  of  Prussia  in  the  East,” 
yet,  on  the  other  hand,  the  danger  was  scouted  by  many  of  the 
Russian  newspapers  and  statesmen.  It  was  said,  the  stronger 
Germany  proves  to  be,  so  much  the  greater  protection  against 
attacks  from  the  West  will  Russia  find  it.  A  writer  in  the 
Northern  Press  declared  that  he  could  understand  England’s 
jealousy  of  the  newly  constituted  Germany,  or  the  bitter  feel¬ 
ings  of  the  house  of  Hapsburg-Lorraine,  or  the  ambition  for 
recognition  as  a  first-class  power  by  Italy,  or  the  anxieties  and 
antipathies  of  the  Scandinavian  states,  but  he  could  not  see 
why  Russia  should  take  umbrage  at  the  growth  of  Germany, 
or  for  a  moment  believe  that  there  was  any  danger  of  its  har¬ 
boring  designs  upon  the  Baltic  provinces. 

The  Golos  newspaper,  on  the  other  hand,  in  a  series  of 
articles  showed  that  Russia  was  the  only  power  which  could 
not  afford  to  acquiesce  in  the  aggrandizement  and  conquests 
of  Prussia.  The  last  article  ended  as  follows  :  “  Russia  ought 
to  keep  its  neutrality  so  long  as  its  interests  are  untouched. 
But  they  may  be  touched  if  at  a  coming  congress  or  at  the  conT 


318 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XII. 


elusion  of  peace  the  treaty  of  Paris  remains  unchanged. 
Russia  has  not  hindered  the  forcible  unification  of  Germany, 
and  in  its  turn  does  not  think  of  a  forcible  unification  of  the 
Slavonians.  But  it  has  a  right  to  demand  that  its  position  on 
the  Black  Sea  and  on  the  banks  of  the  Danube  be  lightened. 
We  may  hope  that  these  lawful  demands  will  be  respected  in 
the  General  European  Congress  which  will  probably  follow 
the  present  war.” 

In  reality  the  Russian  policy,  while  serving  Prussia  and 
cajoling  Prance,  was  directed  to  one  single  end,  the  revision  of 
the  treaty  of  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-six.  It  was  a  ques¬ 
tion,  however,  whether  Prussia  would  give  its  support  to 
Russia  in  its  Eastern  policy ;  as  it  was  expressed  by  Count 
Benedetti,  the  Prench  minister,  in  Berlin,  “Any  conflict  in  the 
East  subordinates  the  German  Chancellor  to  Russia,  and  he 
will  try  to  avert  it.”  This  was  proved  in  the  Greco-Turkish 
difference  of  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-nine.  Russia  is  a 
card  in  his  game  for  events  that  may  take  place  on  the  Rhine, 
and  he  considers  it  necessary  that  the  roles  should  not  be 
inverted,  that  he  should  not  himself  become  a  card  in  the 
game  of  Saint  Petersburg. 

GORTCHAKOF’S  CIRCULAR  NOTE  OF  EIGHTEEN 
HUNDRED  AND  SEVENTY-ONE. 

On  the  thirty-first  of  October  Prince  Gortchakof  addressed 
a  circular  to  the  six  powers.  He  therein  stated  that  the  ex¬ 
perience  of  fifteen  years  proved  that  the  principle  on  which 
the  signatory  power  relied  for  preventing  a  conflict  between 
the  powers  bordering  on  the  Black  Sea,  or  between  either  of 
them  and  the  maritime  powers,  was  nothing  more  than  a 
theory ;  that  Russia  had  disarmed  so  thoroughly  as  to  be 
liable  to  fall  an  easy  prey  even  to  a  secondary  state  pos¬ 
sessed  of  a  navy ;  that  the  treaty  had  been  violated  with  im¬ 
punity  by  the  other  powers,  and  the  imperial  cabinet  was 


1856  -1877.] 


ALEXANDER  II. 


319 


therefore  placed  “  under  the  necessity  of  examining  the  con¬ 
sequences  which  might  follow  for  the  political  position  of 
Russia.” 

Confiding  in  the  equitable  sentiments  of  the  powers  which 
signed  the  treaty  of  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-six,  the  Em¬ 
peror  declared  that  he  held  himself  no  longer  bound  by  those 
stipulations,  and  felt  that  he  was  entitled  and  obliged  to  an¬ 
nounce  to  the  Sultan  that  he  should  henceforth  use  his  own 
discretion  in  regard  to  the  number  and  size  of  the  men-of-war/ 
afloat  in  the  Black  Sea. 

The  English  government  received  this  circular  with  “  deep 
regret,”  because  it  was  felt  that  the  assumption  of  a  right  to 
renounce  any  one  of  the  terms  of  a  treaty  involved  the  as¬ 
sumption  of  a  right  to  renounce  the  whole.  After  an  exchange 
of  courteous  despatches  between  the  two  governments,  it  was 
agreed  that  Russia’s  demand  for  a  revision  of  Article  Two, 
which  placed  a  limitation  on  its  maritime  forces  in  the  Black 
Sea,  should  be  laid  before  the  conference  which  Prussia  had 
convened  in  London. 

On  the  thirteenth  of  March,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy- 
one,  the  powers  formally  abrogated  the  neutralization  of  the 
Black  Sea.  Turkey,  which  at  first  protested  that  it  would 
make  every  sacrifice  rather  than  allow  the  act  to  pass,  found 
itself  so  harassed  by  its  relations  with  Syria,  with  Montenegro, 
with  Persia,  with  Bulgaria,  that  it  was  obliged  to  give  a  re¬ 
luctant  consent.  Russia,  which  had  already  begun  to  prepare 
for  contingencies,  in  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-two  resolved 
to  reorganize  the  port  and  harbor  of  Sevastopol  and  build  the 
dock-yards  of  Nikolaief. 

After  the  fall  of  Prance  the  Emperors  of  Russia  and  Ger¬ 
many,  carrying  with  them  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  undertook 
to  constitute  what  was  called  the  Alliance  of  the  Three  Em¬ 
perors  for  the  regulation  of  the  affairs  in  the  east  and  west. 
On  the  twenty-seventh  of  August,  eighteen  hundred  and 
seventy-two,  Alexander,  who  was  at  Novotcherkask,  solemnly 


320 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XII. 


addressed  the  hetman  of  the  Cossacks.  “  God  grant,”  said  he, 
advancing  to  the  centre  of  the  church,  “that  it  may  not  be 
necessary  to  shed  again  your  precious  blood;  and  at  the  present 
moment  I  see  no  danger  threatening  us.  In  order  still  more 
to  consolidate  peace,  I  have  decided  to  undertake  a  journey 
abroad,  and  I  hope  that  it  will  not  be  without  results  for  us. 
But  in  case  of  necessity,  I  am  persuaded  that  the  troops  of  the 
Don  will  reply  to  my  appeal  with  the  ardor  they  have  always 
shown  for  the  defence  of  our  fatherland.”  This  speech  of  the 
Emperor  awoke  grave  apprehensions.  The  conference  of  the 
three  emperors  in  September  was  attended  with  great  mag¬ 
nificence.  There  were  present  Count  Andrassy  and  two  of  the 
ablest  Russians  of  the  day,  Baron  Joinini  and  Mr.  Hamburger ; 
Alexander  was  accompanied  by  two  of  the  Grand  Dukes,  by 
his  brother,  Count  Berg,  the  Polish  viceroy,  and  by  a  brilliant 
staff.  This  Congress  of  Berlin,  the  journey  of  the  Emperor 
William  to  Saint  Petersburg  in  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy- 
three,  and  frequent  interviews  between  the  heads  of  the  state, 
made  the  good  understanding  between  them  obvious  to  the 
eyes  of  Europe. 


REORGANIZATION  OP  THE  ARMY. 

The  novel  situation  in  which  Europe  has  been  placed  by 
the  developments  of  the  Prussian  military  power  obliged  the 
empire  of  the  Tsars  to  reorganize  its  military  system  also,  and 
bring  its  army  to  a  development  of  which  Peter  the  Great 
never  dreamed.  '  At  the  time  of  the  Crimean  war,  and  even 
after  the  emancipation,  the  main  body  of  the  army  had  con¬ 
sisted  almost  entirely  of  peasants,  each  landed  proprietor  being 
obliged  to  furnish  a  contingent  from  his  serfs;  the  crown 
peasants  were  selected  by  magistrates.  Thus  the  composition 
of  the  army  was  of  the  poorest  material,  and  the  extreme 
length  of  service,  varying  from  twenty  to  thirty  years,  prac- 
v  tically  used  up  the  best  part  of  a  man’s  life.  In  eighteen  hun- 


RUSSIAN  SOLDIERS 


1856-1877.] 


ALEXANDEK  II. 


321 


dred  and  seventy  the  Minister  of  War  was  ordered  to  prepare 
an  improved  plan  of  recruitment  by  which  the  obligation  of 
military  service  should  be  extended  to  all  classes  of  the  popu¬ 
lation.  ^  A  special  commission,  composed  of  members  of  differ¬ 
ent  branches  of  the  administration  and  of  military  specialists, 
was  appointed,  and  the  regulation  drawn  up  by  this  com¬ 
mission  was  approved  by  the  Emperor  on  the  first  of  January, 
eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-four.  In  the  imperial  procla¬ 
mation  which  accompanied  this  ukas  it  was  declared  as  a 
fundamental  principle  that  the  defence  of  the  throne  and  of 
the  country  was  the  sacred  duty  of  every  Russian  subject,  and 
the  entire  male  population  was  called  upon  to  share  in  the 
military  service  without  exemption  by  purchase  or  by  pro¬ 
viding  substitutes.  Theological  students  and  members  of  the 
priesthood,  doctors  of  medicine  and  surgeons,  chemists,  artists 
who  have  been  sent  abroad  to  complete  their  education,  school¬ 
masters  and  the  officers  of  state  or  of  corporate  bodies,  together 
with  all  who  are  incapacitated  by  disease  or  bodily  defects,  are 
exempt  from  service.  The  only  son  of  a  widowed  mother,  or 
of  parents  who  have  attained  the  age  of  fifty-five,  is  also  freed 
from  the  obligation  of  entering  the  army. 

The  active  army  is  recruited  by  means  of  a  levy  made 
throughout  the  empire  upon  that  class  of  young  men  who 
have  reached  the  age  of  twenty  years  by  the  first  of  January 
of  that  year.  The  number  of  men  annually  reaching  the  age 
of  twenty  years  is  about  seven  hundred  thousand,  of  which 
only  a  fourth  are  required  to  join  the  active  army.  The 
remainder  enter  the  reserve.  The  ordinary  term  of  service  in 
the  land  forces  is  fixed  at  fifteen  years,  six  of  which  are  spent 
in  service  and  nine  in  the  reserve ;  in  the  naval  forces  the 
ordinary  term  is  ten  years,  seven  of  which  are  spent  in  active 
service  and  three  in  the  reserve.  In  time  of  war,  however, 
the  soldiers  under  arms  must  remain  with  the  colors  as  long 
as  their  services  are  needed  by  the  state. 

^  Educated  conscripts  can  obtain  a  reduction  of  their  six 


VOL.  III. 


21 


3:22 


HISTORY  OR  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XII. 


years*  term  of  service  in  four  different  ways.  Those  who 
have  completed  a  course  of  study  at  the  universities,  or  other 
first-class  educational  establishments,  serve  only  six  months ; 
those  who  have  finished  the  course  of  six  classes  in  the 
gymnasia,  or  have  received  the  secondary  course  of  instruction 
at  other  schools,  serve  eighteen  months.  If  they  have  passed 
through  the  primary  superior  schools,  they  serve  three  years ; 
if  through  the  primary  schools,  four  years.  This  law,  there¬ 
fore,  has  the  character  of  a  law  guaranteeing  social  equality, 
and,  moreover,  offers  a  premium  on  education.  Young  men 
over  seventeen  years  of  age  may  still  further  abridge  their 
time  of  service  by  voluntarily  forestalling  the  conscription. 
After  a  service  of  three  months,  six  months,  or  two  years, 
according  to  their  attainments  in  education,  they  are  allowed 
either  to  enter  the  reserve  or  remain  in  active  service  with  the 
rank  of  officers. 

The  Russian  land-forces  are  divided  into  the  regular  army, 
the  reserve,  and  the  irregular  troops.  These  forces  comprise  a 
field  army  numbering  five  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  men, 
which  can  easily  be  expanded  to  nine  hundred  thousand  in 
time  of  war;  a  force  of  local  troops  for  garrison  duty  and 
frontier  service,  varying  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
to  three  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  men ;  Cossacks  or 
irregular  horsemen,  numbering  from  forty-two  thousand  to 
one  hundred  and  forty-three  thousand  men,  who  are  used  as 
auxiliaries  to  the  field  army ;  and  a  reserve  of  trained  soldiers 
consisting  of  upwards  of  a  million  men  on  furlough  in  peace 
but  liable  to  service  in  time  of  war.  The  militia  thus  includes 
all  the  male  population  of  the  empire  between  twenty  and 
forty  years  of  age,  except  the  regular  army. 

In  October,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-four,  th£  first 
drawing  was  made  in  accordance  with  the  new  law.  The 
imperial  ukas  called  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men. 
More  than  six  hundred  and  ninety  thousand  were  liable  for 
service,  of  whom  between  twelve  and  thirteen  thousand  were 


185G-  1877.] 


ALEXANDER  II. 


323 


exempted  by  law,  nearly  fifty  thousand  were  discharged  on 
account  of  physical  incapacity,  eighteen  thousand  were 
allowed  to  postpone  their  service  until  they  had  completed 
their  education.  About  one  hundred  and  forty -five  thousand 
were  incorporated  into  the  army,  while  the  rest  were  inscribed 
on  the  rolls  of  the  militia. 

The  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  is  the  Emperor.  All 
military  affairs  are  controlled  through  the  Minister  of  War, 
a  general  of  high  rank,  to  whom  all  officers  and  soldiers 
throughout  the  empire  are  subject.  The  empire  itself  is 
divided  into  fourteen  circumscriptions,  in  each  of  which  a 
ministry  of  war,  on  a  small  scale,  directs  the  administration. 
Each  circumscription  is  under  the  control  of  a  chief,  appointed 
by  the  Emperor.  The  chief  has  the  command  over  every 
military  person  in  the  district,  and  is  the  president  of  a  council, 
the  majority  of  whose  votes  decides  all  questions  relating  to 
property  and  supply. 

.  The  enormous  strides  taken  by  the  science  of  naval  warfare 
induced  the  Russian  government  to  place  its  marine  upon  a 
footing  worthy  of  a  first-class  power.  At  the  end  of  the  year 
eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-nine  Russia  possessed  a  total 
of  two  hundred  and  twenty-three  men-of-war,  carrying  five 
hundred  and  sixty-one  guns.  Some  of  these  new  iron -clads 
are  among  the  most  powerful  in  the  world.  The  Piotr  Veliki, 
or  Peter  the  Great,  is  a  floating  fortification  of  over  ninety-five 
hundred  tons  measurement,  and  carries  four  thirty-five-ton  guns. 
The  Novgorod  and  the  Admiral  Popof  are  circular  monitors, 
called  Popovkas  from  the  name  of  their  inventor.  The  Russian 
fleet  is  also  provided  with  a  large  number  of  torpedo-boats,  the 
use  of  which  has  almost  revolutionized  the  service. 

In  March,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-eight,  the  Russian 
navy  was  commanded  by  seventeen  admirals,  thirty-two  vice- 
admirals,  thirty-one  rear-admirals,  and  more  than  a  thousand 
captains  and  lieutenants.  The  crews  are  obtained  by  recruit¬ 
ment,  except  in  the  case  of  Finland,  where  they  voluntarily 


324 


4 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XII. 


enlist.  The  fleet  has  four  divisions,  assigned  respectively  to 
the  Baltic,  the  Black  Sea,  the  Caspian  and  Aral,  and  the 
Pacific  Ocean. 

Russia,  together  with  the  other  states  of  Europe,  has  made 
endeavors  to  mitigate  the  necessary  horrors  of  war.  In 
eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-seven  it  adhered  to  the  Convention 
of  Geneva  for  the  relief  of  the  wounded.  In  the  following 
year  the  Explosive  Bullet  Treaty  was  signed  at  Saint  Peters¬ 
burg  by  representatives  of  all  the  European  powers. 

The  new  military  system  of  Russia  was  scarcely  inaugurated 
before  events  in  the  East  put  it  to  the  severest  test. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


THE  EASTERN  QUESTION. 

1875  - 1877. 

The  Herzegovinian  and  Bosnian  Insurrection.  —  Count  Andrassy’s 
Note.  —  The  Turkish  Massacres.  —  Diplomatic  Measures.  — 
The  Berlin  Memorandum.  —  Events  at  Constantinople.  —  The 
Serbian  War. 


THE  HERZEGOVINIAN  AND  BOSNIAN  INSURRECTION. 

ON  the  first  of  July,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-five,  an 
insurrection  broke  out  in  the  Herzegovina,  a  Turkish 
province  situated  on  the  east  side  of  the  Adriatic  Sea,  and 
bounded  by  Kroatia,  Bosnia,  Serbia,  and  Montenegro. 

This  was  not  the  first  time,  even  since  the  Crimean  war,  that 
the  Christian  subjects  of  the  Porte  had  raised  the  standard  of 
revolt.  In  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-eight  the  Montenegrins 
and  the  Turks  had  several  quarrels,  which  finally  were  settled 
bv  a  European  commission.  Two  years  later  the  Herzego¬ 
vinians,  aided  by  the  Montenegrins,  rose  against  their  tax-col¬ 
lectors,  and  continued  the  revolt  until  the  autumn  of  eighteen 
hundred  and  sixty-two.  In  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy- 
four  the  harvests  failed ;  the  tribute  nevertheless  was  collected 
with  relentless  cruelty  and  unfairness,  and  the  percentage  was 
even  increased.  Christians  were  forced  to  labor  on  the  public 
highways ;  their  horses  were  taken  for  the  army ;  the  law- 
courts  were  corrupt ;  it  was  an  impossibility  to  secure  justice ; 
honor  and  life  itself  were  at  the  mercy  of  the  Begs. 

Driven  to  desperation,  the  raiahs  sent  their  wives  and  chil- 


326 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XIII. 


dren  for  safety  into  the  Austrian  province  of  Dalmatia,  and 
took  up  arms  against  their  Turkish  masters.  The  bravery 
which  they  displayed  in  battle  under  the  command  of  Lazaro 
Socica  and  their  other  leaders,  the  sympathy  and  encourage¬ 
ment  given  them  by  their  neighbors  in  Serbia  and  Montene¬ 
gro,  and  the  fact  that  it  was  a  mountainous  country  where 
they  fought  enabled  them  to  hold  the  Turks,  who  were  not 
strong  in  numbers  or  in  leadership,  at  bay  throughout  the 

vear. 

•/ 

The  Christians  of  Bosnia,  having  like  grievances  with  those 
of  the  Herzegovina,  followed  their  example ;  on  the  fifteenth  of 
August  the  revolt  began  in  the  neighborhood  of  Gradishka 
with  the  murder  of  a  tax-gatherer  at  the  hands  of  a  Christian. 
The  revolt  spread  rapidly  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  Dervish 
Pasha,  the  Governor  of  Bosnia,  to  check  it.  Montenegro 
would  gladly  have  participated,  but  the  Russian  Emperor 
firmly  forbade  it;  Prince  Milan  of  Serbia  with  difficulty  pre¬ 
vented  his  ministry  from  involving  the  country  in  the  dispute. 
Toward  the  middle  of  August  the  European  powers  through 
their  representatives  offered  their  mediation,  which  the  Porte 
at  first  refused  but  afterward  accepted.  It  was  proposed  that 
a  commissioner  should  be  sent  to  the  disturbed  districts  to  in¬ 
vestigate  the  alleged  grievances,  while  the  foreign  consuls  at 
Ragusa  and  Serai'evo  should  have  interviews  with  the  leaders 
of  the  revolt,  show  them  that  they  must  not  expect  assistance 
or  intervention  from  the  great  powers,  and  advise  them  to  lay 
down  their  arms,  and  trust  to  the  Turkish  commissioner. 
Server  Pasha  was  appointed  commissioner  by  the  Porte,  and 
in  September  went  to  the  Herzegovina ;  but  such  was  the  popu¬ 
lar  distrust  of  the  Turkish  government  that  nothing  came  of 
this  step.  The  insurgent  leaders  on  the  twelfth  of  September 
presented  the  consuls  with  a  document  which  embodied  a 
statement  of  their  complaints,  and  which  closed  with  these 
words :  “  Under  the  Turkish  scourge  we  cannot  and  we  will 
not  live.  We  are  human  beings  and  not  cattle.  If  you  are 


1875  -  1877.] 


THE  EASTERN  QUESTION. 


327 


not  willing  to  help  us,  at  least  you  cannot  oblige  us  to  enter 
into  slavery  again.  We  no  longer  put  any  faith  in  Turkish 
promises,  and  as  to  the  mediation  which  you  offer  us  we  are 
thoroughly  convinced  that  it  will  not  have  a  feather’s  weight 
of  influence  with  the  Turks.  We  want  freedom,  real  and  ab¬ 
solute  freedom.  We  will  never  fall  alive  into  the  hands  of  the 
Turks.”  What  the  insurgents  desired  chiefly  was  a  guarantee 
from  the  great  powers  that  the  Porte  would  faithfully  execute 
the  reforms  which  it  was  so  ready  to  promise.  The  Turkish 
commissioner  was  forbidden  to  enter  into  negotiation  with 
the  consuls,  but  to  accept  their  reports  singly. 

The  Christians  seemed  to  be  put  upon  an  enviable  footing, 
however,  by  the  irade  which  the  Sultan  granted  on  the  second 
of  October,  and  the  ferinan  which  followed  on  the  twelfth  of 
December,  decrees  which  far  outstripped  the  modest  demands 
of  subjects  or  allies.  Equality  was  established,  on  paper,  be¬ 
tween  Christian  and  Mohammedan,  and  all  grievances  were  to 
'  be  redressed.  The  courts  of  justice  were  to  be  reorganized  so 
that  the  judges  should  be  chosen  from  among  men  of  acknowl¬ 
edged  worth  and  probity,  and  hold  their  office  during  good 
behavior.  The  subjects  of  the  Porte  without  distinction  of 
religion  should  elect  the  members  of  all  the  other  judicial  and 
administrative  bodies,  and  civil  tribunals  should  settle  disputes 
between  all  Mussulman  and  other  subjects.  The  Sultan  fur¬ 
ther  decreed  that  taxes  should  be  made  lighter  and  fairer; 
that  the  tithe  should  be  diminished  and  henceforth  collected 
by  tax-gatherers  chosen  by  the  people  without  distinction  of 
creed ;  and  that  enforced  labor  should  be  abolished.  Ecclesias¬ 
tical  affairs  were  also  put  upon  a  satisfactory  basis,  and  all 
ranks  and  offices  were  accessible  to  non-Mussulman  subjects 
of  the  Porte,  and  they  were  allowed  to  acquire  real  property 
and  devise  their  estates  by  will. 

Although  nothing  whatsoever  was  done  toward  carrying 
out  these  admirable  reforms,  the  Porte  took  special  pains  to 
bring  them  to  the  knowledge  of  the  powers,  and  it  might  pos- 


328 


HISTORY  OP  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XIIT. 


sibly  long  have  continued  to  deceive  them,  had  not  the  finan¬ 
cial  condition  of  the  empire  come  to  a  crisis  which  made 
people  suspect  the  approaching  end  of  the  Ottoman  power. 
In  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-four  the  Turkish  debt 
amounted  to  about  nine  hundred  million  dollars,  and  the  defi¬ 
cit  for  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-five  was  nearly  twenty- 
three  millions.  The  Turkish  ministers,  finding  that  they  were 
unable  to  borrow  further  from  the  European  markets,  saw 
themselves  under  the  necessity  of  partial  repudiation.  By  a 
decree  issued  on  the  sixth  of  October  it  was  announced  to  the 
world  that  the  interest  on  the  national  debt  would  be  paid  for 
the  following  five  years  half  in  gold  and  half  in  new  five  per 
cent  bonds,  and  that  the  revenue  derived  from  the  customs,  from 
salt  and  from  tobacco,  and  the  tribute  paid  by  Egypt  would 
be  mortgaged  as  security. 

This  partial  repudiation  naturally  alarmed  the  bondholders, 
a  large  proportion  of  whom  were  English,  and  a  deputation 
waited  on  Lord  Derby,  the  foreign  secretary,  urging  him  to 
devise  some  measure  to  enforce  full  payment  of  interest  on  the 
loans.  Lord  Derby  denied  that  the  government  was  under 
any  obligation  to  interfere.  In  Parliament  it  was  distinctly 
asserted  that  the  Treaty  of  Paris  forbade  England  meddling 
with  the  internal  administration  of  the  empire.  The  English 
government,  in  order  somewhat  to  calm  apprehensions,  pur¬ 
chased  in  November,  for  twenty  million  dollars,  nine  tenths  of 
the  shares  of  the  Suez  Canal,  owned  by  the  Khedive  of  Egypt, 
and  announced  to  the  world  that  free  passage  through  Egypt 
must  be  maintained  at  all  events. 

COUNT  ANDRASSY’S  NOTE. 

One  of  the  results  of  the  Turkish  financial  crisis  was  the 
revival  of  hope  among  the  Christians.  The  insurrection  in 
the  northern  provinces  was  still  in  progress.  Both  Austria 
and  Russia  felt  that  if  it  continued  it  might  lead  to  serious 


1875  -  1877.] 


THE  EASTERN  QUESTION. 


329 


complications.  They  therefore  determined  upon  a  new  at¬ 
tempt  to  oblige  the  Porte  to  carry  out  its  promised  reforms,  so 
that  the  Christians  might  be  willing  to  return  to  their  alle¬ 
giance.  Russia,  Germany,  and  Austria  came  to  an  understand¬ 
ing,  and  Count  Andrassy  was  given  the  difficult  task  of  pre¬ 
paring  a  note  which,  bearing  the  signatures  of  the  six  powers, 
should  make  the  Sultan’s  government  see  that  they  were  in 
earnest.  On  the  thirtieth  of  September,  eighteen  hundred  and 
seventy-five,  Russia  and  Austria  came  to  an  agreement  about 
the  wording  of  the  note ;  and  as  Prince  Bismarck  made  no 
objection,  on  the  same  day  it  was  forwarded  to  Prance,  Italy, 
and  England  for  approval. 

In  his  note  Count  Andrassy  advised  the  Sultan  to  confirm  the 
reforms  which  had  been  promised  in  the  ferman  of  the  twelfth 
of  December,  and  in  order  that  they  might  be  carried  out  he 
proposed  a  special  commission,  composed  of  equal  numbers  of 
Mussulmans  and  Christians,  who  should  take  charge  of  the 
execution  of  the  necessary  measures.  He  thought  the  state 
should  sell  to  the  peasantry  portions  of  waste  land  on  easy 
terms,  and  the  people  might  trust  the  promises  of  the  Sultan 
so  that  he  should  solemnly  confirm  them  and  publicly  accept 
the  demands  presented  by  the  signatory  powers. 

The  courts  of  Paris  and  Rome  found  no  difficulty  in  adopt¬ 
ing  the  Andrassy  Note.  In  London  there  was  considerable 
delay,  and  some  doubt  as  to  whether  it  were  not  a  form  of 
intervention.  It  was  only  when  the  Porte  itself  requested  the 
English  government  to  hesitate  no  longer,  that  the  English 
cabinet  gave  a  general  assent. 

The  note  was  communicated  to  the  Ottoman  government  in 
an  informal  way.  Count  Zichy,  the  Austro-Hungarian  ambas¬ 
sador,  called  upon  Rashid  Pasha,  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs, 
on  the  thirty-first  of  January,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy- 
six,  and  read  to  him  the  note  as  a  despatch  directed  to  the 
Austrian  ambassadors  in  Paris,  London,  and  Rome.  When 
he  went  away  he  left  a  copy.  His  example  was  followed  by 


330 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XIII. 


the  Russian,  French,  Italian,  and  English  ambassadors,  who  an¬ 
nounced  that  the  document  met  with  their  approval  and  they 
saw  nothing  in  it  to  reflect  on  the  spontaneity  of  the  Porte 
or  to  conflict  with  the  provisions  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris. 

The  Grand  Vizier  laid  the  Andrassy  Note  before  a  ministerial 
council,  and  it  was  voted  to  accept  four  of  the  five  demands 
without  change.  The  fifth,  which  related  to  the  expenditure 
of  money  raised  by  taxes  in  Bosnia  and  the  Herzegovina  for 
the  best  interest  of  these  provinces,  was  to  be  changed  in  form 
but  not  in  purport.  Rashid  Pasha’s  formal  acceptance  of  the 
Andrassy  Note  was  communicated  in  writing  to  Count  Zichy 

on  the  thirteenth  of  February. 

%/ 

The  rebels  in  the  Herzegovina  were  not  disposed  to  give 
up  the  struggle,  and  they  refused  the  amnesty  offered  them 
in  March  by  Ali  Pasha.  The  Porte  sent  commissioners,  who 
promised  them  all  that  they  wanted  on  condition  that  they 
would  lay  down  their  arms.  The  Austrian  government,  find¬ 
ing  that  the  Christians  who  fled  to  Dalmatia  were  spreading 
discontent  throughout  the  southern  boundaries,  sent  Baron 
Rodich  as  a  mediator,  and  an  armistice  of  ten  days  was  ar¬ 
ranged  in  March ;  but  nothing  came  of  this.  Baron  Rodich 
conferred  with  the  insurrectionary  leaders,  with  the  refugees, 
with  the  Prince  of  Montenegro  on  the  one  hand,  with  the 
Turkish  authorities  on  the  other.  The  rebels  declared  that 
they  were  willing  to  lay  down  their  arms,  provided  that  in 
addition  to  certain  financial  concessions  the  Turkish  govern¬ 
ment  should  withdraw  the  regular  troops  from  all  except  six 
places,  where  small  garrisons  might  be  left  under  the  eyes  of 
Russian  and  Austrian  agents,  and  disarm  the  native  Moham¬ 
medan  population.  They  also  demanded  a  guarantee  from 
the  six  powers  that  these  reforms  should  be  effected. 

Russia  also  sent  Mr.  Veselitski  to  confer  with  the  insur¬ 
gents  and  with  the  Prince  of  Montenegro.  This  agent  was 
presented  with  a  memorandum  stating  their  grievances  and 
their  expectations. 


1875  -  1877.] 


THE  EASTERN  QUESTION. 


331 


The  Porte  would  not  listen  to  the  demands  of  the  insur¬ 
gents  as  presented  through  Baron  Rodich,  refused  absolutely 
to  disarm  the  native  Mussulmans,  or  to  concentrate  its  forces 
in  a  few  small  places,  or  to  have  a  Russo-Austrian  commission 
of  supervisors,  but  confined  itself  to  its  promises,  unguaranteed 
and  untrustworthy  as  they  were.  Rodich  threatened  that  Aus¬ 
tria  would  set  a  guard  on  its  boundaries,  and  no  longer  offered 
protection  to  refugees ;  the  Turkish  commissioners  threatened 
that  those  who  did  not  submit  should  be  excluded  from  the 
benefit  of  the  reforms.  All  these  threats  failed  to  bring  back 
the  refugees  or  make  the  rebels  lay  down  their  arms. 

As  the  spring  advanced,  the  revolution  took  more  serious 
proportions.  In  the  Herzegovina,  on  the  fourteenth  of  April 
and  the  days  following,  the  insurgents  fought  a  pitched  battle 
with  Mukhtar  Pasha,  as  he  was  marching  from  Gako  to  Nik- 
sikh,  and  drove  him  back  with  great  loss.  Mukhtar  Pasha 
telegraphed  to  Constantinople  that  seven  thousand  Monte¬ 
negrin  subjects  fought  on  the  side  of  the  insurgents.  The 
intelligence  was  received  by  the  Porte  with  indignation.  War 
against  Montenegro  was  threatened,  a  camp  was  established  at 
Skutarf,  and  preparations  were  made  for  immediate  action. 
Only  the  desperate  state  of  the  finances  and  the  exertions  of 
the  foreign  ministers,  who  promised  to  renew  their  efforts  at 
mediation,  prevented  the  crisis. 

THE  TURKISH  MASSACRES. 

Difficult  as  was  the  position  of  the  Turkish  Empire,  with 
a  debt  the  interest  on  which  amounted  to  seventy  million 
dollars  a  year,  with  a  serious  insurrection  unquelled  in  two 
of  its  provinces,  and  with  signs  of  discontent  among  all  its 
Christian  subjects,  it  was  made  still  more  difficult  by  the  out¬ 
rage  at  Salonika,  and  by  the  Bulgarian  atrocities  which  took 
place  early  in  May,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-six. 

On  the  sixth  of  May  a  fanatical  throng  of  Mussulmans 


332 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XIII. 


cruelly  murdered  the  consuls  of  France  and  Germany,  living 
at  Salonika,  a  town  of  Macedonia.  On  the  preceding  day  a 
Bulgarian  girl,  supposed  to  be  an  unwilling  convert  to  Islarn- 
ism,  arrived  at  the  town  to  be  confirmed  in  her  new  faith.  A 
band  of  Greek  Christians  overpowered  her  escort  and  rescued 
her.  The  Mussulmans  demanded  the  restoration  of  the  girl, 
and  their  violence  was  so  great  that  it  was  with  some  diffi¬ 
culty  the  mob  was  dispersed.  The  girl  was  believed  to  be 
concealed  in  the  house  of  the  German  consul,  and  when  the 
representatives  of  Germany  and  France  imprudently  ventured 
into  the  mosque  where  the  excited  throng  had  gathered,  an 
altercation  ensued  and  the  two  men  were  killed.  French  and 
German  fleets  were  immediately  sent  to  Salonika,  and  the 
murdered  consuls  were  buried  with  great  circumstance  under 
the  protection  of  troops  landed  in  large  numbers.  Only  the 
prompt  action  of  the  Turkish  government  in  punishing  the 
offenders  and  in  making  reparation  to  the  families  of  the  vic¬ 
tims  prevented  a  serious  rupture. 

But  even  this  outburst  of  fanaticism  had  neither  the 
elements  of  horror  which  made  the  massacres  in  Bulgaria  so 
heartrending,  nor  the  same  wide-reaching  influence  upon  sub¬ 
sequent  events. 

The  Bulgarians,  anxious  to  throw  off  the  Turkish  yoke,  de¬ 
termined  to  take  advantage  of  the  perplexity  caused  by  the 
Bosnian  and  Herzegovinian  insurrection.  They  were  insti¬ 
gated  to  this  course  by  emissaries  sent  out  by  the  revolutionary 
committee  established  at  Bukarest,  which  without  doubt  was 
in  communication  with  the  Pan-slavic  Society  of  Moscow.  The 
chiefs  of  the  insurrection  had  their  plans  nearly  matured  when 
the  treachery  of  one  of  their  number  caused  a  premature  ex¬ 
plosion.  On  the  first  of  May  Ned  jib  Aga,  a  magistrate  com¬ 
missioned  by  the  Governor  of  Bulgaria  to  make  investigations, 
arrested  and  put  in  jail  a  couple  of  the  conspirators.  This  was 
a  signal  for  instant  action.  The  imprisoned  men  were  rescued, 
and  the  insurrection  immediately  spread  through  the  villager 


1875  -1877.] 


THE  EASTERN  QUESTION. 


333 


of  Klissura,  Koprishtitsa,  Panagurishta,  Novoselo,  and  Bellova, 
and  caused  great  alarm  at  Tatar-Bazardjik  and  Philippopo- 
lis.  Telegram  swere  sent  to  Constantinople  for  regular 
troops,  and  as  these  were  refused  the  beys  of  Philippopolis  and 
Adrianople  were  obliged  to  meet  the  insurgents  with  an  im¬ 
provised  militia  composed  of  the  Mussulman  inhabitants  of 
the  region.  These  irregular  troops,  or  Bashi-Bazuks,  then  pro¬ 
ceeded  to  attack  the  villages  of  the  Christians,  who  made 
almost  no  resistance  and  generally  surrendered  at  the  first 
demand.  The  Bashi-Bazuks  burned  and  pillaged  between 
sixty  and  seventy  villages,  destroyed  eight  thousand  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  forty  houses,  forty  churches,  and  forty-three  schools. 
Mr.  Eugene  Schuyler,  who  was  sent  by  the  American  govern¬ 
ment  to  investigate  these  massacres,  estimated  the  number  of 
Bulgarians  who  were  killed  at  fifteen  thousand,  a  large  pro¬ 
portion  women  and  children.  Others  set  the  number  at  forty 
thousand.  Bulgarian  maidens  were  said  to  have  been  ex¬ 
posed  for  sale  at  Philippopolis  at  a  price  of  only  three  or  four 
lire.  This  massacre  was  entirely  unjustifiable ;  it  was  said  to 
be  an  insignificant  rebellion  at  best,  and  the  panic  which 
might  have  served  as  an  excuse  was  quickly  over.  Nor  did 
the  Bulgarians  themselves  give  cause  for  such  extreme  meas¬ 
ures.  Mr.  Schuyler  says  :  “No  Turkish  women  or  children 
were  killed  in  cold  blood ;  no  Mussulmans  were  tortured ;  no 
purely  Turkish  village  was  attacked  or  burned ;  no  Mussul¬ 
man  house  was  pillaged ;  no  mosque  was  desecrated  or  de¬ 
stroyed.” 

When  the  news  of  the  Bulgarian  atrocities  reached  Western 
Europe  on  the  twenty-third  of  June,  and  was  confirmed  by 
later  and  more  accurate  statements,  public  opinion  became 
greatly  excited.  The  letters  from  Mr.  McGahan  to  the  Daily 
News,  the  report  of  Mr.  Schuyler,  Consul-General  in  Turkey, 
to  Mr.  Maynard,  the  official  statements  of  Mr.  Walter  Baring, 
gave  such  terrible  pictures  of  the  scenes  in  Batak  and  other  Bul¬ 
garian  villages,  that  for  once  Englishmen  forgot  self-interest. 


334 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XIII. 


Four  hundred  public  meetings  were  held  in  England,  in  which 
protests  against  Turkish  misgovernment  and  barbarism  wTere 
expressed,  and  criticism  on  English  selfishness  and  partisan¬ 
ship  was  freely  offered.  Disraeli  and  several  of  the  other 
ministers  w^ere  blamed  for  their  incredulity  and  flippancy. 
Lord  Stratford  de  Redcliffe,  Earl  Russell,  Gladstone,  Granville, 
John  Bright,  Thomas  Carlyle,  Freeman,  and  other  distin¬ 
guished  men  published  pamphlets  and  newspaper  articles 
showing  that  England,  which  had  been  Turkey’s  chief  sup¬ 
porter,  was  Turkey’s  accomplice  in  the  crime. 

The  plea  that  the  Turkish  government  was  not  accessory  to 
these  atrocities,  and  did  not  know  of  them  till  some  time 
afterwards,  wTas  rendered  idle  by  the  fact  that  rewards  and 
decorations  were  granted  to  the  chief  perpetrators.  Akhmet 
Aga,  who  was  responsible  for  the  slaughter  at  Batak,  and 
Nedjib  Aga,  who  destroyed  the  village  of  Ienikeni  after  the 
inhabitants  had  thrown  down  their  arms,  were  decorated  with 
the  order  of  the  Medjidie.  Shefket  Pasha,  whose  soldiers 
pillaged  Iamboli,  was  given  a  high  position  at  Constantinople. 
Mr.  Baring  acknowledged  in  his  report  that  the  Turkish  gov¬ 
ernment  gave  a  powerful  handle  to  its  enemies  and  detractors 
by  the  way  it  treated  the  agents  engaged  in  the  suppression  of 
the  insurrection.  Those  who  committed  atrocities  were  re¬ 
warded,  while  those  who  endeavored  to  protect  the  Christians 
from  the  fury  of  the  Bashi-Bazuks  were  passed  over  with 
contempt. 

A  year  later,  in  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-seven,  the 
Porte  was  brought,  by  the  protestations  of  the  powers,  to 
punish  several  of  the  guiltiest  of  the  offenders,  and  on  the 
eighth  of  June  Akhmet  Aga  was  sent  with  two  others  to 
Constantinople.  But  the  promises  to  make  good  the  injuries 
done  to  the  Bulgarian  towns  were  not  kept ;  the  suffering  in¬ 
habitants  were  subjected  to  enforced  labor,  and  attempts  were 
made  to  collect  the  taxes. 


1875-  1877.] 


THE  EASTERN  QUESTION. 


335 


DIPLOMATIC  MEASURES. -THE  BERLIN  MEMO¬ 
RANDUM. 

Immediately  after  the  outrage  at  Salonika,  and  the  despatch 
of  the  British  fleet  to  Besika  Bay,  Prince  Gortchakof  and 
Count  Andrassy  met  at  Berlin,  in  order  to  confer  with  Prince 
Bismarck.  The  new  Turkish  ambassador  had  just  reached  his 
post  in  Berlin,  and  was  endeavoring  to  put  the  most  favorable 
construction  on  the  acts  of  his  government.  The  Russian 
agent  Veselitski,  and  Petrovitch,  the  president  of  the  Monte¬ 
negrin  Senate,  who  was  charged  with  the  representation  of  the 
Herzegovinian  interests,  also  met  with  the  three  imperial 
chancellors.  On  the  fourteenth  of  May  the  three  ministers 
agreed  upon  a  plan  for  the  settlement  of  the  Eastern  Question. 
The  object  of  the  Memorandum,  the  preparation  of  which 
devolved  upon  Prince  Gortchakof,  was  to  this  purpose :  that 
the  Porte  should  establish  certain  guarantees  for  the  ful¬ 
filment  of  the  reforms,  and  conclude  a  two  months’  armistice, 
during  which  negotiations  with  the  disaffected  Christians 
were  to  be  opened.  The  bases  for  these  negotiations  were 
almost  identical  with  the  demands  of  the  Christians  themselves  : 
that  materials  to  rebuild  the  churches  and  houses  destroyed 
should  be  furnished  the  returning  refugees,  together  with  food 
until  they  could  support  themselves  ;  that  this  assistance  should 
be  distributed  through  a  mixed  commission  composed  of 
Christians  and  Mohammedans,  while  a  committee  of  foreign 
consuls  or  representatives  should  oversee  the  application  of 
the  reforms ;  that  the  Christians  should  be  allowed  to  carry 
arms,  as  well  as  the  Mohammedans.  The  Memorandum  con¬ 
cluded  with  these  words :  “  If,  with  the  friendly  and  hearty 
support  of  the  great  powers,  and  by  means  of  an  armistice, 
an  arrangement  could  be  concluded  on  these  bases,  and  put 
into  immediate  operation  by  the  return  of  the  refugees,  and 
the  election  of  the  mixed  commission,  a  long  step  would  be 
taken  toward  pacification.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  armis- 


336 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XIII. 


tice  should  expire  without  the  objects  of  the  powers  being 
attained,  the  three  imperial  courts  would  be  under  the  neces¬ 
sity  of  supplementing  their  diplomatic  action  by  a  common 
agreement  to  take  more  efficacious  measures,  according  as 
such  might  be  demanded  by  the  interests  of  the  general  peace, 
to  check  the  mischief,  and  prevent  its  further  development.” 

The  French  and  Italian  governments  immediately  tele¬ 
graphed  their  adherence  to  the  terms  of  the  Berlin  Memo¬ 
randum;  England,  after  waiting  six  days,  declined  to  adopt 
the  proposals  of  the  three  Northern  chancellors.  The  reason 
for  the  refusal  was  based  partly  on  the  disinclination  of  the 
British  government  to  concur  in  so  important  a  measure,  in 
the  preparation  of  which  it  had  had  no  hand.  Lord  Derby 
declared  that  Turkey  had  not  had  sufficient  time  to  carry  out 
the  reforms,  and  that  the  Berlin  Memorandum,  with  its  con¬ 
cluding  threat  of  active  interference,  was  a  breach  of  inter¬ 
national  courtesy.  The  five  other  powers  all  expressed  their 
regrets  that  England  should  break  up  the  European  Concert ; 
the  foreign  minister  of  Italy  said  that  he  considered  united 
action  between  all  the  powers  to  be  the  surest  means  of  se¬ 
curing  the  maintenance  of  peace ;  in  thus  co-operating  in  the 
policy  of  the  three  imperial  cabinets,  the  western  powers 
would  be  in  a  better  position  to  exert  an  influence  over  subse¬ 
quent  proceedings,  in  case  the  measures  now  proposed  failed 
to  bring  about  the  pacification. 

Prince  Bismarck,  while  admitting  that  the  articles  of  the 
Memorandum  were  open  to  discussion  and  amendment,  re¬ 
gretted  that  England  had  felt  obliged  to  withdraw  from  the 
cordial  understanding  established  by  the  other  powers,  and 
hoped  that  her  Majesty’s  government  would  do  nothing  to 
encourage  the  resistance  of  the  Sultan.  The  Due  Decazes 
declared  that  if  England  stood  aloof  at  this  momentous  crisis 
it  would  be  a  public  calamity,  and  Count  Andrassy  offered  to 
delay  the  presentation  of  the  Berlin  Memorandum  at  Constan¬ 
tinople,  in  the  hope  that  the  English  government  might  still 


1875-1877.] 


THE  EASTERN  QUESTION. 


337 


give  its  co-operation.  But  before  the  five  powers  could  pre¬ 
sent  the  Memorandum,  rapid  changes  on  the  Bosphorus  ren¬ 
dered  it  an  idle  form. 

EVENTS  AT  CONSTANTINOPLE. 

The  Russian  ambassador  at  Constantinople  was  General 
Ignatief,  who  was  supposed  to  exercise  a  great  influence  over 
Sultan  Abdul- Aziz,  and  his  Grand  Vizier,  Mahmud  Neddin 
Pasha.  He  was  sometimes  called  the  Sultan’s  Mephistopheles. 
The  more  bigoted  of  the  Mohammedans  began  to  feel  that 
Russian  influence  was  too  powerful  a  factor  in  the  Turkish 
cabinet.  The  lack  of  success  in  putting  down  a  small  rebel¬ 
lion  touched  the  Moslem  pride ;  the  financial  difficulties  which 
prevented  a  naturally  rich  country  from  paying  its  creditors 
abroad  and  its  officers  at  home,  worked  great  discontent  among 
the  more  patriotic  of  the  Turks.  The  idea  became  prevalent 
that  General  Ignatief  and  Mahmud  Pasha  were  conspiring  to¬ 
gether  to  persuade  the  weak-minded  Sultan  to  allow  Russia  to 
send  him  assistance.  It  was  to  be  another  Unkiar-Skelessi. 

The  Softas,  or  students  of  Constantinople,  were  fully  per¬ 
suaded  of  this,  and  on  the  eleventh  of  May  they  broke  into 
open  revolt,  crying  “  Turkey  for  the  Turks.”  Mahmud  was 
deposed,  and  his  place  was  filled  by  Mehemed  Rushdi  Pasha. 
Hairulah  Effendi  was  made  the  Sheikh-ul-Islam,  while  the 
Hussein  Avni  Pasha,  a  member  of  the  fanatical  party  of  Old 
Turks,  was  named  war  minister  and  com  man  der-in -chief.  The 
leader  of  the  reform  party.  Midhat  Pasha,  became  an  influen¬ 
tial  member  of  the  cabinet,  and  prepared  a  scheme  of  financial 
and  political  reforms,  which  were  laid  before  Abdul- Aziz. 
When  the  Sultan  haughtily  refused  to  consent  to  such  a  pro¬ 
ject,  a  cabinet  council  was  held  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  May, 
and  the  leaders  of  the  opposing  parties,  laying  aside  their 
differences,  agreed  that  the  first  thing  to  be  done  was  to  depose 

Abdul-Aziz.  The  Sheikh-ul-Islam,  or  chief  of  the  Ulemas, 

22 


VOL.  III. 


338 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XIII. 


declared  that  according  to  the  Sacred  Law  the  Sultan  could  he 
legally  dethroned,  and  on  the  thirtieth  of  May  Abdul- Aziz  was 
forced  to  retire  to  Sheragan,  and  his  nephew,  Mehemet  Murad 
Effendi,  was  proclaimed  Sultan,  with  the  title  Murad  the  Fifth. 
He  was  a  man  weak  in  body  and  mind,  and  chiefly  qualified  for 
his  high  position  by  his  good-will  toward  his  ministers,  whom 
he  left  in  full  control  of  affairs.  The  work  of  reform  was 
immediately  begun.  The  Imperial  Hatt,  announcing  Murad's 
accession,  was  read  with  great  solemnity  before  a  large  throng, 
and  the  ministers  were  charged  to  change  the  administration 
of  justice,  to  pacify  the  provinces  by  granting  concessions,  to 
bring  the  army  into  a  better  condition,  and  to  give  assurances 
to  the  foreign  powers.  The  treasures  left  by  Abdul- Aziz  were 
to  be  devoted  to  state  purposes.  The  new  Sultan  offered  to 
strike  off  a  million  and  a  half  of  dollars  from  the  civil  list,  and 
to  turn  the  income  of  the  crown  mines  into  the  coffers  of  the 
state. 

The  new  Sultan  had  scarcely  been  invested  with  his  office 
when  Abdul-Aziz  was  found  lying  dead  in  a  pool  of  blood. 
A  jury  of  nineteen  physicians  declared  that  his  death  was 
effected  by  his  own  hands  with  a  pair  of  scissors,  but  whether 
it  was  a  case  of  suicide  or  a  political  murder,  the  power  of 
Murad  the  Fifth  seemed  to  be  established. 

Before  Hussein  Avni  had  an  opportunity  to  show  his  energy 
in  bringing  the  provinces  to  peace,  his  career  was  suddenly 
ended.  On  the  fifteenth  of  June,  as  the  Turkish  cabinet  was  in 
session  in  Midhat  Pasha's  palace,  a  Circassian  officer  named 
Hassan,  who  had  been  disgraced,  rushed  into  the  room  and 
shot  Hussein  Avni.  Rashid  Pasha,  the  minister  of  foreign 
affairs,  was  too  terror-stricken  to  move.  Ahmed  Kaisserli,  the 
minister  of  the  marine,  endeavored  to  pinion  the  assassin,  was 
stabbed  in  several  places  during  the  struggle,  and  took  refuge 
in  flight.  The  other  members  of  the  cabinet  escaped  into  an 
inner  room.  Hassan  made  sure  of  the  death  of  Hussein  and 
Rashid,  and  then,  waiting  till  Ahmed  Aga  and  Shukri  Bey 


1875  -  1877.] 


THE  EASTEEN  QUESTION. 


339 


ventured  back  into  the  room,  shot  them  also.  Before  he  was 
secured  he  killed  a  police-officer,  and  wounded  six  of  the  men 
who  had  hastened  from  the  nearest  post.  He  was  immedi¬ 
ately  tried  and  sentenced  to  be  hung.  The  execution  took 
place  on  the  seventeenth. 

Midhat  Pasha  became  now  the  leading  spirit.  He  was  the 
hope  of  the  younger  men ;  he  believed  that  the  empire  must 
be  saved  from  ruin  by  a  system  of  radical  reforms  which 
should  benefit  Christians  as  well  as  Mussulmans.  He  was  the 
legitimate  successor  of  Fuad  Pasha,  who  died  in  eighteen  hun¬ 
dred  and  sixty-nine  leaving  a  scheme  on  paper  for  firmly 
establishing  the  Turkish  Empire  by  means  of  uniting  all 
elements  into  a  mighty  nation.  Midhat  Pasha  was  an  enlight¬ 
ened  man,  educated  in  the  school  of  French  political  ideas. 
He  was  supported  by  Abdul  Kerim,  who  became  war  minister, 
and  Savfet  Pasha,  who  took  the  portfolio  of  foreign  affairs. 

After  a  reign  of  only  three  months  Murad  the  Fifth,  who 
had  been  reduced  to  a  state  of  idiocy  by  drunkenness  and  dis¬ 
sipation,  was  deposed  with  his  own  consent,  and  was  succeeded 
on  the  thirty-first  of  August  by  his  brother  Prince  Abdul 
Hamid,  a  man  in  the  prime  of  life,  who  was  hailed  by  the 
Turkish  press  as  a  man  of  liberal  ideas  and  favorably  disposed 
to  the  Christians. 

THE  SERBIAN  WAR. 

The  difficulties  under  which  the  Turkish  government  was 
laboring  seemed  to  offer  the  Prince  of  Serbia  a  favorable  op¬ 
portunity  to  throw  off  his  allegiance,  which  grew  every  day 
more  and  more  intolerable.  Although  the  Turkish  garrisons 
were  withdrawn  in  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-seven,  the 
Porte  had  not  kept  its  promise  to  return  a  certain  fortress  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  Drina;  complications  about  railway 
junctions  had  arisen  which  caused  further  bitterness  of  feeling. 
Recollections  of  ancient  times,  when  Serbia  was  an  indepen¬ 
dent  Tsarate,  governing  Bulgaria,  Macedonia,  Albania,  and 


340 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


rciiAP.  xiii. 


Thessaly,  roused  the  flame  of  patriotism  among  the  people,  and 
it  had  been  with  difficulty  that  Prince  Milan,  in  eighteen  hun¬ 
dred  and  seventy-five,  restrained  them  from  making  common 
cause  with  the  Herzegovinians. 

Early  in  June,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-six,  Serbia 
began  to  make  preparations  for  war.  A  national  loan  of 
twelve  million  francs  was  proposed  for  the  purpose  of  freeing 
all  men  of  Serbian  race  from  foreign  control,  and  restoring  the 
ancient  empire  of  United  Serbians.  The  Porte  demanded  an 
explanation  of  the  military  movements  which  were  being  set 
on  foot,  and  Prince  Milan  replied  that  Serbia  was  reorganiz¬ 
ing  its  service  on  the  principle  of  universal  military  obligation, 
and  that  the  idea  of  waging  war  upon  Turkey  was  prepos¬ 
terous.  He  justified  the  massing  of  troops  upon  the  frontier  on 
the  ground  that  Serbian  territory  had  been  violated,  but  prom¬ 
ised  to  send  a  peace  commissioner  to  Constantinople  to  settle 
such  difficulties  as  had  arisen.  The  Porte,  on  the  tenth  of  June, 
demanded  the  immediate  payment  of  the  arrears  of  the  Serbian 
tribute,  the  withdrawal  of  the  troops  from  the  frontier,  and  the 
formal  acknowledgment  of  Sultan  Murad  the  Pifth  ;  but  instead 
of  acceding  to  these  requirements,  Prince  Milan  despatched  an 
ultimatum  to  Constantinople,  in  which  he  called  upon  the 
Porte  to  withdraw  its  army  from  the  Serbian  frontier,  and  to 
recognize  him  as  Viceroy  of  Bosnia  under  Turkish  sovereignty. 

The  Bosnian  insurgents,  without  waiting  for  the  Sultan's 
reply,  proclaimed  Milan  their  prince  on  the  twenty-eighth  of 
June.  On  the  following  day  Prince  Milan  left  Bielgrad  for  the 
headquarters  of  the  army  at  Deligrad,  and  on  the  second  of  July 
issued  a  manifesto  to  the  people  explaining  the  necessity  of 
the  warlike  measures  he  had  taken.  The  movement  was 
declared  to  be  purely  national,  and  intended  only  to  establish 
security  and  order  in  place  of  Turkish  misrule  and  anarchy. 
Prince  Milan  promised  to  march  at  the  head  of  his  excellent 
troops,  confiding  in  their  patriotism  and  valor.  “  With  us,”  he 
said,  “  are  our  brave  Montenegrin  allies,  led  by  their  noble  chief, 


1875  -1877.] 


THE  EASTERN  QUESTION. 


341 


my  brother  Prince  Nikita ;  with  us  are  those  valiant  heroes 
the  Herzegovinians,  and  those  martyrs  the  Bosnians.  Our 
brave  brothers  the  Bulgarians  await  our  coming,  and  we  hope 
that  the  glorious  Hellenes,  the  descendants  of  Themistokles 
and  Bozzaris,  will  not  long  stay  away  from  the  battle-field. 
Forward  then,  noble  heroes  !  Let  us  march  in  the  name  of 
Almighty  God,  protector  of  nations ;  let  us  march  in  the  name 
of  justice,  liberty,  and  civilization.” 

General  Tchernaief,  a  retired  Russian  officer  who  had  won 
some  distinction  in  the  capture  of  Tashkend  in  eighteen  hun¬ 
dred  and  sixty-four,  took  the  command  of  the  Serbian  army, 
which  amounted  to  eighty  thousand  men,  the  larger  part  of 
whom  were  raw  recruits.  Three  or  four  thousand  Russians 
came  to  enlist  under  the  Serbian  flag.  General  Tchernaief  s 
headquarters  were  in  Southern  Serbia,  at  Alexinats,  opposite 
Nissa,  on  the  river  Morava.  Smaller  divisions  of  the  army 
were  stationed  in  the  east  opposite  the  Turkish  fortress  Vid- 
din  on  the  river  Timok,  in  the  southwest  and  northwest  on 
the  rivers  Ibar  and  Drina  for  the  purpose  of  making  common 
cause  with  the  Bosnian  insurgents  and  of  keeping  in  commu¬ 
nication  with  Montenegro,  which  declared  war  the  day  fol¬ 
lowing  the  promulgation  of  Prince  Milan’s  manifesto.  Tcher¬ 
naief  began  the  campaign  by  advancing  boldly  across  the 
Morava  into  the  territory  of  the  enemy.  He  was  defeated  in 
engagements  at  Zaitchar  and  Iavor,  and  finally  on  the  thirty- 
first  of  July  was  driven  back  by  Abdul  Kerim  Pasha,  who  in 
turn  crossed  the  boundary  river  and  after  some  hard  fighting 
captured  Kniazevats.  Tchernaief  then  directed  his  march  to 
the  southwest,  intrenched  himself  at  Alexinats,  and  waited 
the  attack  of  the  Turks.  The  situation  was  alarming.  On 
the  twenty-fourth  of  August,  after  an  indecisive  battle  had  been 
fought  for  five  days,  Prince  Milan  declared  to  the  foreign  con¬ 
suls  his  willingness  to  accept  mediation ;  but  the  Turkish 
government  offered  peace  on  such  humiliating  conditions  that 
not  even  England  could  advise  Prince  Milan  to  accept  therm 


342 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XIII. 


After  a  short  armistice  hostilities  were  resumed  toward  the 
close  of  September,  and  although  the  Serbians,  supported  by 
many  Russian  volunteers,  fought  with  greater  steadiness  than 
before,  they  were  defeated  at  Alexinats,  and  on  the  twenty  - 
third  of  October  were  driven  back  from  Djunis.  In  the  mean 
time  the  Montenegrins  under  Prince  Nikita,  having  completely 
defeated  Mukhtar  Pasha  and  expelled  the  Turkish  army,  were 
demanding  a  rectification  of  frontier  as  the  price  of  peace.  In 
Serbia  matters  continued  to  go  from  bad  to  worse.  The 
Turks  occupied  Deligrad  on  the  first  of  November,  and  the 
Bashi-Bazuks  were  in  full  march  to  Bielgrad.  Serbia  lay  at 
the  feet  of  the  Sultan.  It  was  from  the  Tsar  that  help  must 
come,  and  it  came. 

On  the  thirtieth  of  October  Ignatief  was  directed  by  the 
Tsar  to  repair  to  Savfet  Pasha,  the  Turkish  minister  of  foreign 
affairs,  and  threaten  to  leave  Constantinople  with  his  suite, 
unless  within  four-and-twenty  hours  an  armistice  of  six  weeks 
or  two  months  should  be  granted  the  Serbians.  Sultan  Abdul 
Hamid  hastened  to  accept  this  ultimatum,  and  Serbia  was 
saved. 

On  the  second  of  November  Alexander,  who  was  then  at 
Livadia  in  the  Crimea,  during  a  conversation  with  Lord 
Loftus,  “ pledged  his  sacred  word  and  honor,  in  the  most  earnest 
and  solemn  manner,  that  he  had  no  intention  of  acquiring 
Constantinople,  and  that,  if  he  were  forced  by  necessity  to 
occupy  a  part  of  Bulgaria,  it  would  be  only  provisionally, 
until  the  peace  and  security  of  the  Christian  population  were 
secured.” 

In  September  the  Tsar  had  proposed  to  the  governments  of 
England  and  Austria  to  take  coercive  measures  to  put  an  end 
to  Turkish  misrule.  The  programme  was  as  follows :  if  the 
Porte  refused  the  terms  of  peace  offered  by  the  powers,  Bosnia 
should  be  occupied  by  an  Austrian  force,  Russia  should  take 
control  of  Bulgaria,  and  the  united  fleets  should  enter  the 
Bosphorus.  Although  Russia  expressed  its  willingness  to  let 


1875  -1877.] 


THE  EASTERN  QUESTION. 


343 


the  naval  demonstration  accomplish  the  purpose  in  view  if  it 
sufficed,  this  proposal  did  not  meet  the  approval  of  the  powers. 
England  was  in  favor  of  a  conference  to  be  held  at  Constanti¬ 
nople.  On  the  tenth  of  November  the  Tsar,  in  a  speech 
delivered  before  the  representatives  of  the  nobles  and  the 
Communal  Council  of  Moscow,  after  expressing  his  hope  that 
the  negotiations  of  the  representatives  of  the  great  powers 
would  bring  about  a  peaceable  and  satisfactory  settlement  of 
all  difficulties,  used  such  threatening  and  warlike  language 
that  there  could  be  little  doubt  of  his  real  intention.  “  Should 
this  general  agreement,”  said  Alexander,  “not  be  brought 
about,  and  should  I  see  that  we  cannot  obtain  such  guarantees 
as  we  need  to  carry  out  what  we  have  a  right  to  demand  of 
the  Porte,  I  am  firmly  resolved  to  act  independently,  and  I  am 
convinced  that  in  this  case  all  Russia  will  respond  to  my  sum¬ 
mons  should  I  consider  it  necessary,  and  should  the  honor  of 
our  empire  require  it.” 

On  the  day  before,  Lord  Beaconsfield,  at  the  Lord  Mayor’s 
Banquet  at  Guildhall,  declared  that  England  was  ready  for 
war,  “  and  in  a  righteous  cause  would  commence  a  fight  that 
would  not  end  until  right  was  done.”  He  had  already  received 
the  Tsar’s  pacific  assurances,  made  to  Lord  Loftus ;  but  they 
were  not  published  until  the  twenty-first  of  November,  and  in 
the  mean  time  intelligence  had  come  of  the  mobilization  of 
Russian  troops,  and  the  floating  of  a  new  loan  of  a  hundred 
million  rubles. 

The  conference  suggested  by  England  met  at  Constantinople 
in  December,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-six.  In  a  series 
of  preliminary  meetings,  from  which  the  Turkish  representa¬ 
tives  were  excluded,  the  propositions  to  be  submitted  to  the 
government  of  the  Porte  were  discussed,  and  on  the  twenty- 
third  of  the  month  occurred  the  first  assembly  of  the  Plenary 
Conference,  as  it  was  called.  It  soon  became  apparent  that 
the  Turkish  plenipotentiaries  were  instructed  not  to  come  to 
any  agreement  involving  concessions ;  when  guarantees  were 


344 


HISTORY  OR  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XIII. 


demanded,  they  replied  that  the  new  and  admirable  constitu¬ 
tion  granted  by  the  Sultan  to  his  people  was  a  sufficient  surety 
that  all  necessary  reforms  would  be  carried  out.  At  the  eighth 
meeting  of  the  conference,  on  the  fifteenth  of  January,  eighteen 
hundred  and  seventy-seven,  Lord  Salisbury  read  a  modified 
ultimatum  which  the  Sultan  submitted  to  an  Extraordinary 
General  Council,  composed  of  two  hundred  and  fifteen  mem¬ 
bers,  including  representatives  of  every  class  and  creed.  Lord 
Salisbury  said,  as  the  representative  of  the  British  government, 
that  he  was  instructed  “  to  declare  formally  that  Great  Britain 
was  resolved  not  to  give  its  sanction  either  to  maladministra¬ 
tion  or  to  oppression,  and  that  if  the  Porte,  from  obstinacy  or 
indifference,  offered  resistance  to  the  efforts  made  to  place  the 
Ottoman  Empire  on  a  surer  basis,  the  responsibility  of  the 
consequences  would  rest  solely  on  the  Sultan  and  his  advisers. 
The  resume  which  he  now  presented  he  declared  to  be  the 
final  communication  from  the  plenipotentiaries,  and  if  the 
principles  of  the  proposals  were  not  accepted  at  the  time  of 
the  next  meeting,  the  representatives  of  the  six  powers  would 
consider  the  conference  at  an  end,  and  would  leave  Constanti¬ 
nople/’ 

Midhat  Pasha  opened  the  deliberation  of  the  General  Coun¬ 
cil  with  an  address  stating  the  condition  of  affairs,  and  plainly 
declaring  that,  in  case  of  refusal  to  accept  the  proposals  of  the 
conference,  Turkey  would  be  left  to  its  fate.  Prance  and 
England,  he  said,  would  not  declare  war  against  the  Porte, 
but  they  had  nothing  to  hope  for  from  those  powers.  On  the 
other  side  of  the  balance  lay  Turkish  independence.  The 
Grand  Council  was  unanimous  in  favor  of  rejecting  the  pro¬ 
posals,  and  Savfet  Pasha  communicated  the  decision  to  the 
plenipotentiaries  at  the  last  meeting  of  the  conference,  held  on 
the  twentieth  of  January. 

By  the  twenty-seventh  of  January  the  plenipotentiaries  had 
all  left  Constantinople.  Prince  Gortchakof  thus  announced 
the  failure  of  the  conference :  “At  the  proposal  of  the  English 


1875-1877.] 


THE  EASTERN  QUESTION. 


345 


government  the  cabinets  agreed  upon  the  bases  and  the  guar¬ 
antees  of  peace  which  should  be  discussed  at  a  conference  to 
meet  at  Constantinople.  This  conference,  in  its  preliminary 
deliberations,  arrived  at  a  complete  understanding,  both  re¬ 
specting  the  conditions  of  peace  and  the  reforms  to  be  intro¬ 
duced.  It  communicated  the  result  to  the  Porte  as  the  firm 
and  unanimous  wish  of  Europe,  but  met  with  an  obstinate 
refusal  from  the  Turkish  government.  Thus,  after  more  than 
a  year  of  diplomatic  efforts,  showing  the  importance  which  the 
great  powers  attach  to  the  pacification  of  the  East,  the  right 
which  they  possess  of  insuring  it  in  view  of  the  general  inter¬ 
ests  involved,  and  their  firm  desire  to  obtain  it  by  means  of  a 
European  understanding,  the  cabinets  again  find  themselves  in 
the  same  position  as  at  the  beginning  of  the  crisis,  which  is, 
however,  still  further  aggravated  by  the  blood  which  has  been 
shed,  the  passions  which  have  been  stirred  up,  the  ruins  accu¬ 
mulated,  and  the  prospect  of  an  indefinite  prolongation  of  the 
deplorable  state  of  things  which  weighs  upon  Europe,  and 
justly  preoccupies  public  opinion  and  the  attention  of  the 
governments.  The  Porte  pays  no  heed  to  its  former  engage¬ 
ments,  to  its  duties  as  a  member  of  the  European  Concert,  or 
to  the  unanimous  wishes  of  the  great  powers.  Ear  from  hav¬ 
ing  progressed  toward  a  satisfactory  solution,  the  state  of  the 
East  has  grown  worse,  and  remains  a  permanent  menace  to 
the  peace  of  Europe,  the  sentiments  of  humanity,  and  the  con¬ 
science  of  Christian  nations.”  The  Russian  Emperor  now 
wished  to  know  what  course  would  be  taken  by  the  powers 
under  the  circumstances,  but  it  was  not  until  the  thirty-first  of 
March  that  the  signature  of  what  was  called  the  London  Pro¬ 
tocol  took  place.  This  memorandum  stated  the  interest  which 
the  six  powers  took  in  the  improvement  of  the  condition  of 
the  Christian  populations  of  Turkey,  and  the  reforms  to  be 
introduced  into  the  management  of  the  provinces;  it  stated 
that  the  arrangement  about  to  be  concluded  between  the 
Porte  and  Serbia  and  Montenegro  was  a  step  taken  toward 


346 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XIII. 


pacification  ;  it  invited  the  Porte  to  put  its  armies  on  a  peace 
footing,  and  to  apply  as  soon  as  possible  the  measures  prom¬ 
ised  for  the  relief  of  the  Christians.  It  also  stated  the  inten¬ 
tion  of  the  powers  to  watch  carefully  over  the  manner  in 
which  the  Ottoman  government  fulfilled  its  promises,  and  it 
ended  with  a  vague  threat  of  interference  in  case  their  hopes 
were  disappointed. 

But  while  the  representatives  of  the  powers  signed  this 
document,  they  each  added  a  separate  qualification  which 
destroyed  its  effect.  Lord  Derby  declared  that  the  protocol 

would  be  null  and  void  unless  it  resulted  in  immediate  demo- 

\ 

bilization  of  the  Turkish  and  Russian  forces.  Count  Shuvalof 

if 

said  :  “  If  peace  is  concluded  with  Montenegro,  and  if  the 
Porte,  accepting  the  advice  of  Europe,  shows  itself  ready  to  put 
its  forces  again  on  a  peace  footing,  and  seriously  to  undertake 
the  reforms  mentioned  in  the  protocol,  let  it  send  to  Saint 
Petersburg  a  special  envoy  to  treat  of  disarmament  to  which 
his  Majesty  the  Emperor  would  also  consent.  If  massacres 
like  those  which  have  stained  Bulgaria  with  blood  should  take 
place,  it  would  necessarily  put  a  stop  to  the  measures  of  demo¬ 
bilization.  ”  The  Turkish  government  on  the  tenth  of  April 
issued  a  circular  declaring  the  London  Protocol  to  be  “  desti¬ 
tute  of  all  equity  and  of  all  obligatory  character.” 

The  Turkish  ambassador  in  London,  Musurus  Pasha,  deliv¬ 
ered  a  copy  of  this  circular  to  Lord  Derby,  wTho  said  he  did 
not  see  what  further  steps  the  British  government  could  take 
to  avert  the  war  which  seemed  inevitable. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


THE  TURKO-  RUSSIAN  WAR. 

1877. 

Russia’s  Declaration  of  War. —  The  Passage  of  the  Danube. — 
The  Advance  across  the  Balkans;  Shipka  Pass. —  Capture 
of  Nikopolis.  —  Repulse  at  Plevna. — Battle  of  Shipka  Pass. — 
Operations  on  the  Lom.  —  Third  Battle  of  Plevna. 


RUSSIA’S  DECLARATION  OP  WAR. 


ON  the  thirteenth  of  April,  soon  after  the  publication  of 
Turkey’s  refusal  to  accept  the  London  Protocol,  a  council 
of  war  was  held  at  Saint  Petersburg,  and  it  was  determined  to 
mobilize  the  entire  Russian  army,  to  establish  reserves  in  the 
north  as  well  as  in  the  south,  so  as  to  be  prepared  for  any 
crisis. 

The  Emperor,  in  company  with  his  eldest  son,  left  Saint 
Petersburg  on  the  twentieth  of  April,  and  three  days  later 
reached  Kishenef,  the  headquarters  of  the  Army  of  the  South. 
There  he  promulgated  his  manifesto,  which  ran  as  follows  :  — 
“  Our  faithful  subjects  know  the  lively  interest  which  we 
have  always  felt  in  the  destinies  of  the  oppressed  population 
of  Turkey.  Our  desire  to  improve  and  render  their  lot  secure 
is  shared  by  the  whole  Russian  people,  which  now  shows 
itself  ready  to  offer  fresh  sacrifices  in  order  to  alleviate  the 
position  of  the  Christians  of  the  Balkan  peninsula.  The  life 
and  property  of  our  faithful  subjects  have  always  been  dear  to 
us,  and  our  whole  reign  attests  our  constant  solicitude  to  pre¬ 
serve  to  Russia  the  benefits  of  peace.  This  solicitude  has 


348 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XLY. 


never  ceased  to  actuate  us  since  the  beginning  of  the  deplora¬ 
ble  events  which  took  place  in  Bosnia,  Bulgaria,  and  the 
Herzegovina.  Our  object  has  been,  above  all,  to  effect  an  im¬ 
provement  in  the  position  of  the  Christians  of  the  East  by 
means  of  pacific  negotiations  in  concert  with  the  great  Euro¬ 
pean  powers,  our  allies  and  friends.  Eor  two  years  we  have 
made  unceasing  efforts  to  induce  the  Porte  to  grant  such 
reforms  as  would  assure  the  Christians  of  the  Provinces  against 


the  arbitrary  use  of  authority  by  the  local  magistrates,  but  the 
Porte  has  remained  unshaken  in  its  categorical  refusal  of  any 
guarantee  for  the  safety  of  the  Christians.  Having  thus  ex¬ 
hausted  all  pacific  endeavors,  we  are  compelled  by  the  haughty 
obstinacy  of  the  Porte  to  proceed  to  more  decisive  action. 
The  sentiment  of  justice,  the  sense  of  our  own  dignity,  imper¬ 
atively  demands  it.  By  its  refusal  the  Porte  places  us  under 
the  necessity  of  having  recourse  to  arms.  Profoundly  convinced 
of  the  righteousness  of  our  cause,  and  humbly  trusting  our¬ 
selves  to  the  grace  and  help  of  God,  we  hereby  make  known 
to  our  faithful  subjects  that  the  moment  foreseen  when  we 
pronounced  these  words,  to  which  all  Russia  responded  with 
such  unanimity,  is  at  last  come.  We  expressed  the  intention 
to  act  independently  whenever  we  should  deem  it  necessary, 
and  Russia’s  honor  demanded  it.  We  now  invoke  the  bless¬ 
ing  of  God  on  our  valiant  armies,  and  give  the  order  to  cross 
the  Turkish  frontier.” 

On  the  same  day  Prince  Gortchakof  sent  a  circular  to  the 
powers,  announcing  the  determination  of  his  exalted  master  to 
“  fulfil  the  duty  imposed  upon  him  by  the  interests  of  Russia, 
whose  peaceable  development  was  impeded  by  the  constant 
troubles  in  the  East.” 

The  Turkish  government,  in  reply  to  these  manifestoes,  did 
not  hesitate  to  charge  Russia  with  ambitious  designs.  The 
foreign  minister  in  his  despatch  to  the  powers  said  :  “  The  im¬ 
perial  government  deems  itself  bound  to  declare  that  the 
Christian  populations  of  the  Herzegovina,  of  Bosnia,  and  the 


1877.] 


THE  TTJRKO-RU  SSI  AN  WAR. 


349 


vilayets  inhabited  by  the  Bulgarians  rose  in  insurrection  solely 
at  the  instigation  of  Pan-slavic  committees  organized  and  paid 
by  Russia ;  that  Serbia  and  Montenegro  took  up  arms  against 
the  sovereign  power  only  through  the  direct  intervention  of 
Russia;  that  they  could  never  have  sustained  the  struggle 
without  aid  from  Russia ;  and  that,  in  fact,  all  the  ills  which 
for  the  past  two  years  have  scourged  their  portion  of  the  em¬ 
pire  are  due  to  the  action,  open  or  secret  but  always  present, 
of  Russia.”  And  again  in  the  Sultan’s  address  to  his  armies 
it  was  declared  that  Russia’s  only  object  in  view  was  the  com¬ 
plete  annihilation  of  Turkish  rights  and  independence. 

Lord  Derby  replied  to  Gortchakof’s  circular  with  a  de  ¬ 
spatch  in  which  he  expressed  the  deep  regret  of  the  English 
government  at  the  action  of  Russia,  and  pointed  out  that  it 
was  a  contravention  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  by  which  each  and 
all  the  signatory  powers  had  engaged  to  respect  the  indepen¬ 
dence  and  the  territorial  integrity  of  the  Ottoman  Empire.  He 
ended  by  declaring  that  the  Tsar  had  separated  himself  from 
the  European  concord,  hitherto  maintained ;  that  the  conse¬ 
quences  of  this  step  could  not  be  foreseen,  and  that  the  British 
government  felt  bound  to  state  that 
approve  the  Tsar’s  decision.  Nevertheless  England  promised 
to  observe  neutrality  so  long  as  its  own  interests  were  not 
threatened  on  the  side  of  the  Suez  Canal  and  India. 

On  the  sixteenth  of  April  a  convention  was  agreed  upon  be¬ 
tween  Russia  and  Rumania,  by  which  the  former  was  allowed 
to  use  the  railways,  the  rivers,  the  roads,  ports,  and  telegraph 
lines  in  that  country.  All  facilities  for  transportation  were  prom¬ 
ised.  This  convention  was  approved  by  the  Rumanian  senate 
by  a  large  majority,  and  as  soon  as  it  was  brought  to  the 
notice  of  the  Porte  it  resulted  in  a  declaration  of  war.  The 
proclamation  of  Rumanian  independence  followed  on  the 
twenty-second  of  May,  and  the  army,  amounting  to  thirty-eight 
thousand  foot  soldiers  and  eight  thousand  two  hundred  cavalry, 
with  one  hundred  and  twenty  cannon,  took  the  field,  under 
command  of  Prince  Charles. 


they  could  not  concur  or 


350 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XIV. 


THE  PASSAGE  OF  THE  DANUBE. 

The  force  which  Russia  had  collected  in  the  south  for  the 
invasion  of  Turkey  amounted  to  about  two  hundred  thousand 
men,  under  the  command  of  the  Grand  Duke  Nikolai,  the 
brother  of  the  Tsar.  On  the  third  week  of  April  the  Emperor 
reviewed  the  six  army  corps  which  had  been  assembling  at 
Ivishenef  since  the  beginning  of  the  month.  On  the  very  day 
of  the  declaration  of  war  the  troops  began  to  cross  the  frontier 
in  four  columns  at  Ungeni,  and  a  little  south,  at  Besmatak, 
eighty  kilometres  southwest  of  Kishenef,  and  at  Kubei. 

Owing  to  the  lateness  of  the  season,  the  impassability  of  the 
highways,  and  the  insufficient  accommodations  afforded  by 
the  one  railroad  crossing  Rumania,  a  month  elapsed  before  the 
Russian  army  was  concentrated  opposite  that  portion  of  the 
Danube  at  which  it  was  determined  to  effect  the  crossing. 
The  headquarters  were  successively  removed  from  Kishenef  to 
Iassy,  and  from  Iassy  to  Ploiesti,  when  the  Emperor  arrived 
on  the  sixth  of  June,  with  Prince  Gortchakof  and  other  dis¬ 
tinguished  officials.  It  was  found  impossible  to  cross  the 
Danube  upon  the  day  set.  The  river  was  at  this  time  about 
five  metres  above  its  normal  level,  and  the  Rumanian  shore 
was  in  many  places  inundated.  The  railroad,  which  had  in¬ 
sufficient  terminal  facilities,  and  a  different  gauge  from  the 
Russian  track,  was  delayed  in  transporting  siege  guns,  ammu¬ 
nition,  the  four  pontoon  trains  attached  to  the  army,  the  wooden 
pontoon  built  at  Galatz,  the  two  dozen  torpedo-boats,  and  all 
the  materials  necessary  for  the  operations.  The  army  therefore 
remained  in  inactivity  until  the  twenty-fourth  of  June. 

Meantime  the  first  shot  had  been  exchanged  between  the 
belligerents  at  Ibra'ila,  on  the  third  of  May.  A  week  later 
the  Russian  batteries  threw  a  shell  into  the  powder-magazine 
of  the  Turkish  three-masted  turret-ship  Lufti-Djelil,  and 
caused  it  to  explode.  Out  of  a  crew  of  two  hundred  and 
seventeen  men  only  two  were  saved.  On  the  twenty-sixth  of 


1877.] 


THE  TURKO-RU SSlAN  WAR. 


351 


the  same  month,  four  Russian  torpedo-boats,  under  the  direc¬ 
tion  of  Lieutenant  Dubassof,  managed  to  sink  the  Turkish 
monitor  Seife  just  below  Matchin.  The  activity  of  the  Rus¬ 
sians  thus  prevented  the  Turks  from  making  use  of  their  fleet. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  war  they  had  eight  large  ironclads  in 
the  Danube  below  Braila,  and  seven  iron-plated  gunboats  and 
eighteen  wooden  ships  between  Hirsova  and  Viddin. 

As  early  as  May  the  Russians  had  restricted  the  Lower  Dan¬ 
ube  fleet  to  the  Sulina  mouth  of  the  river  by  laying  a  line  of 
torpedoes  across  from  Reni,  while  the  barricade  of  torpedoes 
near  Braila,  placed  a  few  days  later,  protected  the  mouths  of 
the  Pruth  and  Sereth,  and  the  town  of  Galatz.  After  the 
destruction  of  the  Seife,  the  Turks  made  only  three  attempts 
to  use  their  ironclads.  On  the  twentieth  of  June,  while  Com¬ 
mander  Novikof,  with  ten  steam  launches  brought  overland, 
was  placing  a  line  of  torpedoes  across  the  river  at  Parapan  for 
the  purpose  of  isolating  the  Turkish  monitors  at  Rustchuk,  he 
was  attacked  by  the  Turks,  but  succeeded  in  accomplishing 
his  object.  On  the  twenty-third  and  twenty-fourth  of  June 
monitors  put  out  from  Nikopolis,  but  were  driven  back.  Lieu¬ 
tenant  Greene  thus  criticises  the  action  of  the  Turkish  navy, 
which  was  under  control  of  Admiral  Hobart  Pasha,  an  ex-officer 
of  the  English  service,  and  son  of  the  Earl  of  Buckingham¬ 
shire  :  “  After  this  date  no  Turkish  gunboats  ever  left  the 
shelter  of  their  fortresses,  and  the  history  of  the  Turkish  fleet 
on  the  Danube  may  be  summarized  as  from  first  to  last  a  com¬ 
plete  failure.  Two  of  their  river  ironclads  were  sunk,  two 
more  were  captured  subsequently  at  the  surrender  of  Nikopo¬ 
lis,  and  the  other  three  remained  at  Rustchuk  till  the  close  of 
the  war.  Of  the  large  ironclads  on  the  lower  river,  one  was 
sunk  by  a  stationary  torpedo  near  Sulina  in  the  month  of 
October  ;  the  others  remained  idle  in  the  port  of  Sulina.  The 
only  damage  the  whole  fleet  ever  did  was  in  wounding  five  or 
six  men  in  one  boat  at  Parapan,  and  in  inflicting  some  slight 
injuries  on  three  of  the  launches,  which  were  subsequently 


352 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


{Chap.  XIV. 


repaired.  It  was  not  that  opportunities  were  lacking  for  the 
flotilla  to  act.  On  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  they  could 
have  made  an  effort  to  prevent  the  capture  of  the  bridge  over 
the  Sereth,  and,  failing  in  this,  they  might  at  least  have  de¬ 
stroyed  it  and  thereby  greatly  delayed  the  Russian  operations. 
Later  on,  if  they  had  been  vigilant  and  skilful,  they  might  have 
destroyed  a  portion  at  least  of  the  Russian  flotilla  of  small 
launches ;  they  might  have  protected  their  own  ships  with 
nettings,  and  used  their  small  boats  to  drag  for  torpedoes,  if 
they  could  not  prevent  them  from  being  placed.  But  they  did 
none  of  these  things ;  and  at  the  end  of  two  months  they 
found  themselves  isolated  in  sections  by  means  of  the  torpedo 
barricades,  and  so  alarmed  by  the  loss  of  two  of  their  ships, 
that  the  idea  of  a  torpedo  became  a  bugbear  to  them,  and  a 
few  launches  moving  over  the  water  with  the  motions  of  plant¬ 
ing  torpedoes  were  enough  to  make  them  retire  under  the 
guns  of  their  forts.”  The  strength  of  the  Turkish  navy  in 
eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-six  was  estimated  at  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  thirty-two  ships,  and  somewhat  more  than  eighteen 
thousand  men. 

The  Russian  plan  was  to  cross  the  Danube  at  two  points. 
The  crossing  of  the  lower  river  was  accomplished  on  the  twenty- 
second  of  June.  General  Zimmermann,  by  means  of  boats, 
rafts,  and  steam-tugs,  passed  over  at  Galatz  with  two  regiments, 
which  after  a  short  struggle,  and  a  loss  of  five  officers  and 
one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  men,  gained  possession  of  the 
height  of  Budjak.  The  same  night  the  town  of  Matchin  was 
abandoned,  and  the  whole  of  the  Turkish  force  was  immedi¬ 
ately  after  withdrawn  from  the  Dobrudsha.  As  soon  as  the  flood 
in  the  Danube  had  sufficiently  subsided,  General  Zimmermann 
was  able  to  use  the  bridge  which  he  had  constructed  near  Braila, 
and  to  transfer  the  main  part  of  his  force  to  the  other  side. 

The  crossing  of  the  Middle  Danube  was  a  much  more 
serious  undertaking.  The  concentration  of  troops  jn  the  vi¬ 
cinity  of  Bukarest  had  made  the  Turks  believe  that  the  passage 


IS  77.] 


THE  TURKO-RUSSIAN  WAR. 


353 


of  the  river  would  be  attempted  at  Nikopolis,  Giurgevo,  or 
Oltenitsa.  They  strengthened  also  their  works  at  Rust- 
chuk,  Turtukai,  and  Silistria,  and  posted  batteries  along  the 
river-bank.  The  first  intention  of  the  Grand  Duke  Nikolai 
was  to  cross  at  Zimnitsa-Sistova,  but  a  report  that  the  height 
of  the  river  would  render  this  impracticable,  for  a  moment 
threw  his  plans  into  confusion.  While  waiting  for  pontoons 
in  order  to  cross  at  Nikopolis,  he  made  a  personal  inspection 
of  the  river  from  Turnu  to  Zimnitsa,  and  finding  that  the 
passage  at  Turnu,  opposite  the  strong  works  of  Nikopolis,  was 
rather  too  difficult,  and  that  the  water  had  fallen,  he  decided 
suddenly  to  force  the  river  at  a  point  just  below  Sistova  where 
the  island  Vardim  divides  the  Danube  into  two  unequal 
streams,  the  widest  of  which  could  be  crossed  by  a  pontoon 
bridge,  and  the  southern  branch,  measuring  about  six  hundred 
meters,  by  boats.  On  the  evening  of  the  twenty-sixth  of 
June  the  troops,  numbering  fifteen  thousand  men,  under 
command  of  General  Dragomirof,  collected  at  Zimnitsa  and 
launched  the  pontoon  boat.  The  first  division,  led  by  Major 
General  Ioltchin,  landed  on  the  Bulgarian  shore  and  engaged 
in  a  close  contest  with  the  Turks,  who  were  driven  back. 
About  five  o’clock  in  the  morning,  three  hours  after  the  land¬ 
ing  of  the  first  division,  General  Dragomirof  reached  the 
southern  bank  with  the  third  division,  and  took  command  of 
the  attack.  The  Turks  fought  with  great  determination,  but 
about  two  o’clock  in  the  afternoon  the  Russians  captured  the 
heights  behind  Sistova,  and  soon  afterwards  entered  the  town 
itself.  On  the  evening  of  that  day  the  Turks  had  entirely 
abandoned  their  positions,  and  twenty-five  thousand  Russians 
were  established  in  good  defences  on  the  southern  heights. 
The  passage  of  the  river  had  cost  only  twenty  hours  of  labor 
and  a  loss  of  eight  hundred  and  twenty-one  men.  The  con¬ 
struction  of  a  bridge  was  begun  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  June, 
but  it  was  soon  partially  destroyed  by  a  storm,  and  was  com¬ 
pleted  only  on  the  second  of  July.  About  this  time  the 

vol.  nr.  23 


‘354 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XIV. 


Emperor  and  Grand  Duke  Nikolai  transferred  their  head¬ 
quarters  to  the  southern  bank  of  the  Danube,  and  Alexander 
immediately  issued  a  proclamation  to  the  Bulgarians  in  which 
he  explained  his  action  in  defending  the  cause  of  the  Eastern 
Christians,  and  promised  that  the  life,  liberty,  honor,  and 
property  of  all  classes  should  be  guaranteed.  He  also  called 
upon  them  to  form  auxiliary  forces,  and  to  obey  the  Russian 
authorities  so  as  to  confirm  their  deliverance  from  Mussulman 
tyranny. 

With  the  Russian  occupation  of  the  Danube  line  of  defences, 
which  was  most  strangely  neglected  by  the  Ottomans,  closes 
the  first  period  of  the  war. 

ADVANCE  ACROSS  THE  BALKANS;  SHIPKA  PASS. 

On  the  fifth  of  July  the  Russians  took  possession  of  the 
bridge  over  the  Iantra,  near  Bidla,  and  a  detachment  of  cav¬ 
alry  captured  the  city  itself.  Two  days  later,  Gurko,  with 
fourteen  hundred  cavalry  and  six  guns,  put  to  flight  the  three 
thousand  Turks  who  were  stationed  at  Tirnova,  the  ancient 
capital  of  the  Bulgarians.  Thus  the  Russians  had  control 
of  the  two  roads  leading  westward  to  the  Balkans.  On  the 
twelfth  of  the  month  the  Grand  Duke  Nikolai  changed  his 
headquarters  from  Sistova  to  Tirnova.  The  Bulgarians 
brought  bread  and  salt  as  a  sign  of  hospitality,  the  women 
and  children  scattered  flowers,  and  the  priests  came  to  meet 
him  with  songs. 

General  Gurko  was  detailed  to  cross  the  Balkans  with  his 
whole  detachment.  He  knew  that  the  Shipka  Pass  was 
guarded  by  a  force  of  three  thousand  Turkish  infantry,  a 
few  guns,  and  several  bands  of  Bashi-bazuks ;  but  certain 
Bulgarians  offered  to  lead  the  Russians  over  a  blind  trail 
about  half-way  between  the  Elena  and  Travna  passes.  If  he 
should  succeed  in  issuing  from  the  mountains  on  the  south 
by  the  seventeenth  of  July,  he  was  to  attack  the  Shipka 


1877.] 


THE  TURKO-RUSSIAN  WAR. 


355 


Pass  on  that  side,  while  one  division  of  Cossacks  should  make 
a  demonstration  on  the  northern  side.  General  Gurko  sent 
his  pioneers  in  advance  to  make  this  blind  trail  passable  for 
his  lighter  artillery.  On  the  twelfth  of  July  he  left  Tirnova, 
and  after  a  march  of  about  sixty-seven  kilometers  surprised 
and  captured  the  little  village  of  Hainkioi,  at  the  southern  foot 
of  the  pass.  The  transportation  of  the  artillery  over  this  steep 
and  difficult  pass,  which  at  the  summit  has  an  elevation  ol 
more  than  eleven  hundred  meters,  was  a  remarkable  feat  of  en¬ 
gineering.  On  the  afternoon  of  July  fourteenth  the  Russians 
were  attacked  by  a  force  of  about  two  thousand  of  the  enemy, 
but  won  an  easy  victory.  On  the  sixteenth  of  July  Gurko 
began  his  march  to  Shipka,  leaving  at  Hainkioi  a  detachment 
of  three  thousand  five  hundred  men  with  fourteen  guns,  to 
keep  possession  of  that  pass.  He  turned  southwest,  and  after 
marching  about  a  dozen  kilometers  he  met  a  body  of  Turks 
posted  behind  the  Tundja  brook,  which  flows  out  of  the  moun¬ 
tains  at  Uflani.  The  battle  with  the  enemy  occupied  so  much 
time  that  he  was  able  on  that  day  to  get  only  half-way  to 
Kazarlyk.  By  the  next  noon  that  town  was  in  possession  of 
the  Russians,  but  they  were  too  much  exhausted  by  the  heat 
and  the  labor  of  the  day  to  advance  against  the  Shipka  Pass. 
The  detachment,  under  charge  of  Prince  Mirski,  according  to 
agreement,  was  to  make  an  attack  upon  the  Turks  intrenched 
in  the  highway  leading  through  the  pass.  This  attack  was 
to  be  supplemented  by  General  Gurko.  But  General  Gurko 
was  a  day  too  late.  The  attack  made  from  the  north  by 
Prince  Mirski’s  forces  caused  a  loss  of  six  officers  and  two 
hundred  and  five  men,  and,  being  unsupported,  was  a  failure. 
The  next  day  Gurko  also  made  an  isolated  attack  from  the 
south,  and  gained  some  of  the  outer  trenches ;  but  when  they 
found  that  they  were  not  to  be  supplemented  by  Prince  Mirski, 
they  retired  to  Shipka.  On  the  nineteenth  it  was  intended 
to  renew  the  attack,  but  during  the  night  the  Turks  evac¬ 
uated  their  position,  and  leaving  their  tents  pitched,  and 


356 


HISTORY  OR  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XIV. 


abandoning  their  artillery  and  large  supplies  of  provisions, 
as  well  as  their  wounded,  they  managed  to  escape  in  detached 
bodies  to  Philippopolis.  Three  passes  over  the  Balkans  were 
now  in  the  hands  of  the  Russians. 


CAPTURE  OF  NIKOPOLIS.- REPULSE  AT  PLEVNA. 

If  the  Russians  wished  to  keep  control  of  the  defensive  line 
of  the  Iantra,  it  was  necessary  for  them  to  take  the  strong¬ 
holds  between  the  Vid  and  the  Lorn  ;  their  first  offensive  oper¬ 
ation,  therefore,  was  directed  against  Nikopolis,  a  town  of  eight 
or  ten  thousand  inhabitants,  which  was  a  special  menace  to 
Sistova  and  the  right  wing.  Nikopolis  was  defended  by  the 
citadel,  an  old  half-mined  fortress  called  Tuna-Kale,  and  a 
few  earthworks.  The  hills  in  the  rear  commanded  the  cita¬ 
del.  The  Turkish  garrison  consisted  of  about  twelve  thou¬ 
sand  men,  for  the  most  part  distributed  in  the  redoubts  thrown 
up  to  the  south  and  west  of  the  city. 

On  the  fifteenth  of  July,  after  a  struggle  which  lasted  all 
day,  the  troops  under  General  Kriidener  captured  two  of  the 
chief  positions  of  the  Turks  and  drove  them  into  the  citadel. 
Fires  were  burning  in  many  places ;  the  Turks  destroyed 
their  stores  and  the  principal  buildings  situated  near  the 
river ;  during  the  night  a  portion  of  the  garrison  tried  to 
break  through  the  Russian  lines,  but  were  repulsed.  On  the 
morning  of  the  next  day  preparations  were  made  for  an  early 
assault ;  but  when  ITassan  Pasha  saw  that  there  was  no  chance 
of  defending  himself,  he  displayed  a  white  flag,  and  submitted 
to  an  unconditional  surrender.  Seven  thousand  men  became 
prisoners  of  war ;  the  Russians  took  also  six  flags,  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  ten  guns,  more  than  ten  thousand  small  arms,  and  two 
monitors  which  were  scarcely  injured.  Their  loss  was  about 
thirteen  hundred  men.  A  few  days  later  the  Russians  occu¬ 
pied  Lovtcha,  and  in  accordance  with  instructions  received 
by  telegraph  from  the  Grand  Duke  at  Tirnova,  proceeded  to 


1877.] 


THE  TURKO -RUSSIAN  WAR. 


357 


take  Plevna,  an  important  town  situated  about  thirty-two 
kilometers  from  Nikopolis,  and  which  was  supposed  to  be 
almost  undefended  by  the  Turks.  General  Schilder-Schuldner, 
to  whose  care  the  capture  of  the  city  was  intrusted,  arrived  at 
Plevna  on  the  afternoon  of  the  nineteenth  of  July.  His  little 
army  of  six  thousand  five  hundred  men,  with  forty-six  guns,  was 
distributed  over  a  distance  of  twenty-seven  kilometers,  from 
Bukova  to  Tutchenitsa.  He  was  surprised  to  find  the  city 
and  the  heights  of  Grivitsa  occupied  by  a  strong  Turkish 
force.  While  General  Kriidener  had  been  engaged  in  the 
operations  about  Nikopolis,  Osman  Pasha  was  advancing 
from  Viddin  with  forty  thousand  of  the  best  troops  of  the 
Turkish  army,  intended  to  reinforce  the  garrison  of  the  be¬ 
leaguered  city.  Having  come  too  late,  he  turned  aside  to 
Plevna.  Although  his  march  from  Yiddin  to  the  Vid  took 
many  days,  and  a  report  of  his  movements  had  been  brought  to 
the  Grand  Duke,  and  although  Turkish  prisoners,  even  before 
the  capture  of  the  city,  had  announced  the  expected  arrival  of 
reinforcements  from  the  west,  no  attempts  were  made  to  find 
out  the  facts.  Thus  the  Turkish  general  was  enabled  to 
arrive  upon  the  Russian  flank  without  a  single  officer  being 
cognizant  of  it.  When  the  news  of  this  criminal  carelessness 
came  to  Saint  Petersburg,  the  Golos  demanded  bitterly  what 
the  Cossacks,  called  the  eye  and  ear  of  the  Russian  army,  were 
doing. 

General  Schilder-Schuldner  ordered  a  general  attack  on  all 
sides  on  the  morning  of  the  twentieth.  At  half  past  five  the 
Russians  assaulted  the  Grivitsa  heights.  Four  companies  of 
infantry  carried  the  western  extremity,  and  pressed  in  to 
the  very  outskirts  of  the  town,  holding  their  position  until 
ordered  to  retreat  at  twenty  minutes  past  eleven.  At  nine  in 
the  morning  the  Russian  right  and  left  flanks  had  succeeded 
in  reaching  Plevna,  but  they  were  not  in  easy  communication 
with  each  other,  and  the  centre  had  completely  failed  to  carry 
the  main  Grivitsa  position.  The  Turks  then,  by  the  aid  of 


358 


HISTORY  OR  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XIY. 


reinforcements  which  arrived  without  the  knowledge  of  the 
Russians,  formed  within  the  town,  and  came  out  in  over¬ 
whelming  numbers,  driving  them  back  with  great  slaughter 
to  their  lines  of  trenches.  Seventy-four  officers  and  two 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy-one  men  were  killed  and 
wounded.  Mr.  Archibald  Forbes  telegraphed  to  the  Daily 
News  in  regard  to  this  the  only  serious  reverse  the  Russians  bad 
as  yet  encountered :  “  It  occurred  through  neglect  of  common 
military  precautions.  When  the  commander  of  the  ninth  corps 
proceeded  against  Nikopolis,  he  made  the  omission  of  protect¬ 
ing  his  flank,  by  not  sending  cavalry  to  occupy  Plevna,  then 
only  weakly  held.  Afterwards  an  easy  chance  did  not  offer. 
The  Turkish  column  from  Viddin,  marching  too  late  to  succor 
Nikopolis,  turned  aside  and  occupied  Plevna.  With  intent  to 
repair  the  blunder,  General  Kriidener  sent  three  regiments  of 
infantry  against  Plevna,  and  without  a  previous  reconnoissance. 
These,  after  hard  fighting,  actually  occupied  the  town.  They 
had  laid  aside  their  cloaks  and  packs  in  the  streets,  and  had 
quitted  the  fighting  column  formation,  believing  all  was  over, 
and  were  singing  as  they  straggled  along.  No  patrols  had 
been  pushed  into  the  recesses  of  the  town.  No  cavalry  had 
been  sent  forward  beyond.  The  whole  business  was  slovenly 
to  a  degree.  The  penalty  was  paid.  Suddenly  from  a  hun¬ 
dred  windows  and  balconies  a  vehement  fire  was  poured  into 
the  troops  straggling  along  the  streets.  They  were  beset  on 
all  sides,  and  had  to  retreat.” 

Osman  Pasha  was  constantly  receiving  reinforcements,  and 
working  diligently  to  protect  Plevna  with  earthworks  and 
fortifications.  He  strengthened  the  Grivitsa  redoubt  and  the 
lines  connecting  the  numerous  small  villages  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  town. 

General  Kriidener,  though  he  was  reinforced  by  a  detach¬ 
ment  of  troops  under  command  of  Lieutenant-General  Sha- 
khovskoi,  hesitated  to  make  the  assault,  because  he  now  knew 
the  strength  of  the  enemy’s  position  and  his  own  numerical 


1877-1 


THE  TURK O-BU SSIAN  WAR. 


359 


inferiority.  He  applied  for  instructions  to  the  Grand  Duke, 
who  on  the  twenty-eighth  telegraphed  from  Tirnova,  one 
hundred  and  twenty-eight  kilometers  distant,  a  peremptory 
order  to  attack.  Accordingly  General  Kriidener  made  his 
preparations  for  an  assault  to  be  made  on  the  thirtieth. 
He  had  a  total  of  thirty  thousand  men,  and  the  distance 
between  the  two  wings  was  twenty-one  kilometers.  The 
attack  was  to  be  upon  a  strongly  intrenched  position  ;  and 
the  two  columns,  besides  being  insufficient  in  numbers,  were 
entirely  independent  of  each  other.  General  Kriidener  was 
ordered  to  attack  the  Turkish  centre  at  the  Grivitsa  redoubt, 
which  was  the  key  of  the  position ;  General  Shakhovskoi,  with 
the  left  wing,  was  to  assault  the  Turkish  forces  between  Radi- 
shevo  and  Grivitsa,  and  General  Skobelef  was  detailed  to 
repulse  any  offensive  operations,  and  prevent  the  arrival  of 
reinforcements  from  Lovtcha.  General  Kriidener  opened  the 
attack  upon  the  Grivitsa  redoubt  with  his  artillery.  The 
cannonade  lasted  from  half  past  eight  until  half  past  two,  at 
which  time  the  infantry  began  to  advance.  Their  progress 
was  hindered  by  the  terrible  and  well-directed  fire  of  the 
Turks.  Again  and  again  they  neared  the  redoubt,  but  were 
driven  back.  At  sunset  Kriidener  gave  an  order  for  a  final 
assault  from  all  sides.  The  brave  Russians  advanced  to  a  dis¬ 
tance  less  than  a  hundred  meters  from  the  Turkish  works,  but 
it  was  all  in  vain.  The  attack  of  the  right  wing  was  a  com¬ 
plete  failure,  and  it  was  with  some  difficulty  that  the  Russians 
during  the  night  managed  to  regain  their  old  position. 

On  the  left  wing  General  Shakhovskoi  by  five  o’clock  had 
gained  possession  of  two  of  the  “  middle  group  ”  of  redoubts. 
It  was  impossible,  however,  for  Shakhovskoi  to  hold  the 
ground  he  had  gained.  It  was  now  nightfall.  He  had  no 
reserves,  and  he  was  surrounded  by  Turkish  troops  on  three 
sides.  Accordingly  after  dark  his  men  were  withdrawn  in 
good  order  to  the  Radishevo  ridge,  and  the  next  morning 
they  reached  Poradim.  The  dilatoriness  of  General  Kriidener 


360 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XVV\ 


and  the  undue  rashness  of  Prince  Shakhovskoi  had  lost  the 
day.  It  was  only  the  consummate  generalship  of  the  younger 
Skobelef  which  prevented  Shakhovsko'i’s  forces  from  being  en¬ 
tirely  cut  to  pieces.  Skobelef s  little  force  was  hotly  engaged 
from  morning  until  night,  but  he  succeeded  in  keeping  the 
Turks  from  occupying  the  second  knoll  of  the  “  Green  Hills. ” 
Shakhovsko'i’s  retreat  was  thus  assured. 

The  Russian  loss  in  the  second  battle  of  Plevna  was  one 
hundred  and  sixty-nine  officers  and  seven  thousand  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  thirty-six  men,  or  a  quarter  of  all  the  men  on  the 
field.  When  the  news  of  the  repulse  reached  Tirnova,  the 
Grand  Duke  hastily  removed  his  headquarters,  and  panic 
seized  upon  the  inhabitants  of  the  whole  region,  who  expected 
soon  to  see  the  Turks  destroying  the  bridge,  and  the  Bashi- 
bazuks  murdering  and  mutilating  in  all  their  villages.  The 
Turks,  however,  did  not  pursue  their  advantage,  but  safe  in 
their  intrenchments  waited  for  further  assaults. 

At  this  time  the  Turkish  strength  was  principally  concen¬ 
trated  at  three  places.  There  was  an  army  of  fifty  thousand 
men,  under  Osman  Pasha  at  Plevna.  Suleiman  Pasha,  with 
forty  thousand  men,  had  driven  General  Gurko  back  to  leni- 
Zagra,  and  had  taken  a  strong  position  there ;  while  Mehemet 
Ali,  who  had  been  recalled  from  Montenegro  to  take  the 
chief  command  in  place  of  Abdul  Kerim,  was  at  Rasgrad 
with  sixty-five  thousand  men.  Other  detachments  at  Lovtcha, 
Osman  Bazar,  and  elsewhere,  brought  the  total  force  to  about 
one  hundred  and  ninety-five  thousand  men.  The  Russians,  on 
the  other  hand,  had  a  strength  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
thousand  infantry  and  twelve  thousand  cavalry,  besides  Zim- 
mermann’s  detachment  in  the  Dobrudzha.  It  was  freely  rec¬ 
ognized  that  a  terrible  blunder  had  been  made  in  beginning 
the  campaign  with  insufficient  forces.  It  was  now  impossible 
to  carry  out  the  original  plan,  and  consequently  the  month 
of  August  was  spent  in  inaction.  On  the  third  of  the 
month  the  Emperor  signed  the  order  for  the  mobilization 


1877.] 


THE  TUKKO-RUSSIAN  WAR. 


361 


of  the  guard,  the  grenadiers,  and  two  divisions  of  the  line, 
bringing  to  the  front  a  fresh  army  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
thousand  men  and  four  hundred  and  sixty  guns.  He  had 
already  issued  a  decree  calling  out  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
eight  thousand  men  of  the  militia  to  replace  the  actual  and 
prospective  losses  by  battle  and  disease.  He  also  successfully 
appealed  to  Prince  Charles  of  Rumania  to  bring  his  army  to 
his  assistance.  The  Russians  were  thus  reinforced  by  thirty- 
two  thousand  infantry,  five  thousand  cavalry,  and  eighty-four 
guns. 

BATTLE  OP  SHIPKA  PASS.  -  OPERATIONS  ON  THE 
LOM.- THIRD  BATTLE  OP  PLEVNA. 

It  was  Suleiman  Pasha,  on  whose  movements  now  depended 
the  success  of  the  Turkish  arms.  Mehemet  Ali  was  anxious 
to  unite  the  two  armies,  and  make  a  combined  attack  upon  the 
Russian  left  wing.  In  this  case  the  Russians  would  have 
been  obliged  to  give  up  the  control  of  the  Shipka  Pass,  and  if 
the  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  men  thus  collected 
should  gain  the  victory,  the  Sistova  bridge  was  in  their  hands. 
Suleiman,  however,  sustained  by  the  War  Council,  which 
directed  the  operations  by  telegraph  from  Constantinople,  was 
determined  to  attack  Shipka  directly  in  front.  He  began  his 
attack  on  the  twenty-first  of  August ;  and,  as  Colonel  Greene 
says,  “  Without  gaining  the  least  material  advantage  in  so 
doing,  he  sacrificed  the  best  part  of  the  fine  army  he  brought 
with  him  from  Montenegro.”  General  Gurko,  whose  scouts 
had  penetrated  to  within  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  kilo¬ 
meters  of  Adrianople,  after  being  obliged  to  retreat  was  sum¬ 
moned  to  Saint  Petersburg  to  superintend  the  transportation  of 
the  troops  which  he  was  to  command.  General  Darozhinski 
was  left  with  about  five  thousand  men  at  Shipka  Pass,  for  the 
defence  of  which  almost  nothing  had  been  done. 

On  the  nineteenth  of  August  Suleiman  advanced  against 
the  Pass.  The  Turks  secured  the  command  of  the  Russian 


362 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XIY. 


position  on  every  side,  but  “  for  three  days  —  August  twenty- 
first,  twenty-second,  and  twenty-third  —  less  than  eight  thou¬ 
sand  Russians  and  Bulgarians  held  in  check  the  army  of  Sulei¬ 
man  twenty-five  thousand  to  thirty  thousand  strong.  During 
this  time  their  only  food  was  the  biscuit — about  one  day's  ration 
—  which  they  had  in  their  pockets  when  the  affair  began ; 
the  heat  was  intense,  but  the  nearest  water  was  at  a  spring 
between  three  and  four  miles  back  on  the  road  toward  Ga- 
brova,  and  all  that  the  men  had  to  drink  was  the  little  which 
was  brought  back  in  their  canteens  by  the  men  wrho  carried 
the  wounded  to  the  rear.  Whenever  the  firing  ceased  for  a 
while,  they  lay  down  on  the  ground  they  were  defending,  and 
caught  an  hour’s  sleep ;  for  it  was  the  period  of  full  moon, 
and  night  brought  no  cessation  to  the  firing.”  Lieutenant 
Greene  continues  his  comments :  “  Bor  impetuous  assaults 
and  tenacious,  dogged  defence,  for  long-continued  fighting 
and  physical  endurance,  this  five  days’  battle  in  the  mountain 
is  extremely  remarkable ;  but  there  were  no  skilful  manoeu¬ 
vres  of  the  troops  on  either  side.  Although  Suleiman  took 
possession  of  heights  flanking  and  nearly  surrounding  the 
Russians,  yet  he  persisted  in  dividing  his  forces  and  making 
his  strongest  attacks  upon  their  strongest  position,  Mount 
Saint  Nicholas,  thereby  enabling  them,  though  far  inferior 
in  numbers,  to  hold  their  ground  at  all  points  for  three  days, 
until  the  arrival  of  reinforcements.” 

Suleiman  Pasha  telegraphed  to  Constantinople  for  reinforce¬ 
ments,  and  the  Shipka  Pass  remained  in  the  hands  of  the 
Russians. 

On  the  fifteenth  of  August  the  army  under  the  Tsesarevitch, 
numbering  forty-five  thousand  men  with  two  hundred  guns, 
was  scattered  over  a  distance  of  eighty  kilometers,  between 
Pirgos  on  the  Danube  and  Eski-Djuma.  Mehemet  Ali,  who 
commanded  the  Ottoman  troops  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
four  Bulgarian  fortresses,  determined  to  take  advantage  of  the 
scattered  condition  of  the  Russians,  and,  if  possible,  to  drive 


SHIPKA  PASS 


1877.] 


THE  TURKO-RUSSIAN  WAR. 


363 


him  back  across  the  Lom.  A  decisive  victory  over  the 
Tsesarevitch  might  give  the  Turks  control  of  the  line  of  the 
Iantra,  and  cut  off  all  retreat  by  the  bridge  at  Sistova.  He 
had  an  excellent  army,  variously  estimated  to  be  from  fifty 
thousand  to  eighty-five  thousand  strong.  His  first  attempts 
met  with  some  success ;  by  the  tenth  of  September  he  had 
forced  the  Russians  beyond  the  Banitchka  Lom,  and  was 
preparing  to  make  a  further  advance  when  his  plans  were 
disarranged  by  the  defeat  of  his  troops  at  Tserkovna  on  the 
twenty-first.  At  the  beginning  of  October  the  Russians  had 
regained  their  old  position  on  the  Lom.  Mehemet  Ali’s 
offensive  movement  had  completely  failed. 

Meanwhile,  to  the  Russians  in  the  vicinity  of  Plevna  noth¬ 
ing  occurred  of  great  importance.  On  the  thirty-first  of 
August  Osman  Pasha  made  an  extensive  sortie  which  was 
repulsed  after  some  severe  fighting.  On  the  third  of  Septem¬ 
ber  Prince  Imeretinski,  assisted  by  General  Skobelef  and 
General  Dobrovolski,  took  the  important  strategic  village  of 
Lovtcha.  The  Russians,  having  a  superiority  of  numbers,  suc¬ 
ceeded  by  noon  in  capturing  all  the  redoubts  except  one,  the 
strongest,  which  protected  the  road  to  Plevna.  This  was  car¬ 
ried  about  seven  o’clock  in  the  afternoon,  after  a  desperate 
struggle  in  which  all  its  defenders  perished.  The  Russians 
were  masters  of  Lovtcha,  and  were  free  to  begin  the  third 
great  assault  upon  Plevna,  which,  if  it  proved  successful, 
“  would  probably  lead  to  the  complete  defeat  of  the  Turks 
throughout  the  whole  theatre  of  war.” 

The  military  importance  of  the  little  town  was  explained  by 
the  fact  that  it  was  the  meeting-point  of  roads  leading  to  Vid- 
din,  Sofia,  Shipka,  Biela,  Zimnitsa,  and  Nikopol  is.  Since  the 
two  previous  attacks  upon  the  place  by  the  Russians,  Osman 
Pasha  had  worked  strenuously  to  build  fortifications  upon  the 
hills  north  and  east  of  the  town.  In  a  month’s  time  he  had 
completed  eighteen  redoubts  and  several  lines  of  trenches. 
His  army  on  the  first  of  September  was  roughly  calculated  to 


•364 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XIV. 


number  fifty-six  thousand  men;  the  Russians,  at  the  same 
time,  were  bringing  against  him  more  than  ninety  thousand 
men. 

On  the  night  of  the  sixth  of  September  the  troops  began 
their  advance,  and,  undiscovered  by  the  Turks,  succeeded  in 
building  two  batteries,  where  they  established  twenty  siege- 
guns  opposite  the  Grivitsa  redoubt,  the  key  of  the  position  on 
the  north.  For  the  next  four  days  the  cannonade  continued 
without  abatement  while  the  troops  were  being  disposed  for 
the  great  assault  which  was  fixed  upon  for  the  eleventh.  The 
artillery  fire  from  two  hundred  and  fifty  guns  was  to  be  con¬ 
tinued  at  intervals  all  day  until  three  in  the  afternoon,  when 
the  infantry  should  attack  at  three  distinct  points  :  the  Grivitsa 
redoubt,  redoubt  number  ten,  situated  a  couple  of  thousand 
kilometers  southeast  of  Plevna,  and  the  two  redoubts  com¬ 
manding  the  road  to  Lovtcha  and  belonging  to  the  Krishin 
group.  The  fog,  however,  which  hung  over  the  whole  re¬ 
gion  disarranged  “  this  elaborate  artillery  programme.”  The 
Russians  and  Rumanians  who  attacked  the  Grivitsa  redoubt, 
after  a  terrific  struggle,  which  lasted  from  three  until  half  past 
seven  in  the  evening,  were  finally  successful.  A  Rumanian 
soldier  killed  the  Turkish  standard-bearer  and  secured  the 
flag  ;  five  guns  also  fell  into  the  hand?  of  the  allies.  The  loss 
of  the  Rumanians  was  nearly  twenty-six  hundred  men ;  their 
killed  outnumbered  the  wounded ;  the  Russian  brigade  lost 
about  half  as  many. 

At  redoubt  number  ten  the  Russian  attack  failed  com¬ 
pletely,  and  resulted  in  tremendous  losses.  The  dead  and 
wounded  were  left  on  the  field,  and  the  Turks,  in  disregard  of 
the  convention  of  Geneva,  sallied  forth  and  barbarously  muti¬ 
lated  their  helpless  opponents.  All  through  this  war,  in  fact, 
the  Turks,  especially  the  Bashi-bazuks,  were  distinguished 
for  their  wanton  cruelty.  Ambulances  and  surgeons  were  not 
spared,  and  those  who  carried  the  wounded  from  the  field  were 
shot  down  in  cold  blood; 


1877.] 


THE  TURKO-RUSSIAN  WAR. 


365 


General  Skobelef,  who  had  charge  of  the  third  column,  took 
one  of  the  redoubts  in  the  bend  of  the  Lovtcha  road,  after  an 
hour’s  severe  fighting,  in  which  he  lost  three  thousand  men. 
On  the  next  day,  however,  as  he  was  not  reinforced,  after  re¬ 
pulsing  five  attacks  of  the  enemy  he  was  obliged  to  give  up  his 
extremely  critical  position  and  withdraw.  Though  most  of  his 
officers  were  shot  down,  and  though  he  exposed  himself  reck¬ 
lessly  at  the  very  front,  he  escaped  without  a  scratch.  MacGahan 
thus  described  his  appearance  at  the  close  of  the  battle :  “  His 
uniform  was  covered  with  mud  and  filth,  his  sword  broken, 
his  cross  of  Saint  George  twisted  round  on  his  shoulder,  his 
face  black  with  powder  and  smoke,  his  eyes  haggard  and 
bloodshot,  and  his  voice  quite  gone.  He  said  :  *  I  have  done 
my  best ;  I  could  do  no  more.  My  detachment  is  half  de¬ 
stroyed  ;  my  regiments  do  not  exist ;  I  have  no  officers  left ; 
they  sent  me  no  reinforcements,  and  I  have  lost  three  guns. 
I  blame  no  one.  It  was  the  will  of  God.’  ”  The  third  great 
repulse  at  Plevna  had  cost  the  Russians  eighteen  thousand 
men  out  of  sixty  thousand  brought  into  action.  The  Grand 
Duke  acknowledged  that  the  Russians  were  defeated,  not 
because  the  position  at  Plevna  was  impregnable,  nor  because 
they  did  not  have  sufficient  forces,  but  because  they  were 
ignorant  of  the  enemy’s  position,  and  failed  to  confine  their 
assaults  to  the  Grivitsa  and  Krishin  redoubts,  concentrating 
their  efforts  there.  As  it  was,  Skobelef  was  sent  forward 
almost  as  into  a  funnel,  leaving  commanding  positions  on  both 
sides  of  him,  and  attacking  a  position  which  led  to  nothing, 
and  was  untenable  after  it  was  gained. 

It  was  now  determined  to  make  a  regular  investment  of 
Plevna,  and  General  Todleben  was  summoned  from  Saint  Peters¬ 
burg  to  superintend  the  operation.  The  days  which  followed 
the  great  assault  were  marked  with  no  actions  of  importance. 
The  Rumanians,  on  the  eighteenth  of  September,  and  again 
on  the  nineteenth  of  October,  made  vain  attempts  to  capture 
the  second  Grivitsa  redoubt.  The  Turks  worked  almost  un- 


366 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XIY. 

hindered  at  their  fortifications,  and  General  Kruilof  failed 
entirely  to  keep  Shevket  Pasha  from  sending  provision  trains 
into  Plevna  from  Orkhanie.  It  was  estimated  that  owing  to 
Kruilof ’s  incompetence  Osman  received  sixty  days’  full  rations 
for  an  army  of  sixty  thousand  men.  Shevket  came  with  five 
thousand  men  and  a  large  train,  and  had  an  interview  with 
Osman,  in  which  it  was  agreed  upon  that  the  former  should 
fortify  the  strong  points  defending  the  road  to  Orkhanie. 
This  was  done,  and  Osman  Pasha  was  in  full  communication 
with  his  point  of  supplies. 

General  Todleben’s  plans  of  investment  comprised  the  cap¬ 
ture  of  these  fortified  places.  General  Gurko  was  put  in 
command  of  an  army  of  thirty-five  thousand  infantry  and  ten 
thousand  cavalry,  and  after  a  determined  battle,  which  nearly 
resulted  disastrously,  he  succeeded  in  storming  Gorni  Dubnik 
on  the  twenty-fourth  of  October.  The  Russians  captured 
one  Pasha,  fifty-three  officers,  more  than  two  thousand  men, 
besides  guns  and  ammunition.  On  the  twenty-eighth  Ismail 
Hakki,  the  commander  of  Telis,  capitulated,  with  one  hundred 
officers,  three  thousand  men,  and  an  immense  amount  of  am¬ 
munition  destined  for  the  defence  of  Plevna.  When  this  news 
reached  Shevket  Pasha  he  evacuated  Rodomirtsa,  which  was 
immediately  seized  by  the  Russians.  On  the  second  of  No¬ 
vember  the  investment  of  Plevna  was  complete.  General 
Todleben,  secure  in  the  knowledge  that  sooner  or  later  Osman 
must  be  reduced  by  famine  to  capitulation,  resolutely  refused 
to  compromise  his  chances  by  another  assault.  Although  he 
was  now  completely  blockaded  by  an  army  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty  thousand  men,  Osman  Pasha  replied  to  a  flag  of 
truce  sent  on  the  thirteenth  of  November,  that  he  and  his 
brave  army  were  resolved  to  shed  the  last  drop  of  blood  for 
the  honor  of  their  countrv. 

In  the  second  week  of  December  he  made  an  attempt  to 
break  through  the  Russian  lines  with  about  forty  thousand 
men.  In  this  he  was  defeated  and  obliged  to  surrender  at 


1877.] 


THE  TURKO-RUSSIAN  WAR. 


367 


discretion.  Lieutenant  Greene  says :  “  Certainly  that  must 
be  called  a  brilliant  defence  which  arrested  the  Russian  ad¬ 
vance  and  completely  paralyzed  their  whole  plan  of  campaign 
and  all  their  movements  for  five  months ;  which  caused  them 
to  call  forth  vast  reinforcements  from  Russia,  and  pending 
their  arrival  to  supplicate  the  aid  of  a  petty  principality; 
which  killed  and  wounded  and  spread  disease  among  nearly 
forty  thousand  of  his  enemies,  and  caused  the  affairs  of  a 
mighty  empire  to  be  directed  during  half  a  year  from  miserable 
huts  in  obscure  villages  of  a  foreign  land.5’ 

While  the  investment  of  Plevna  was  leading  to  the  destruc¬ 
tion  of  Osman  Pasha  and  his  fine  army,  Suleiman  Pasha,  who 
had  again  vainly  attempted  to  dislodge  the  Russians  from 
Shipka  Pass,  and  had  then  been  transferred  to  the  Army  of 
the  Quadrilateral  in  place  of  Mehemet  Ali,  tried  to  break 
through  the  detachment  of  the  Tsesarevitch,  but,  handling  his 
forces  unskilfully,  he  was  driven  back  across  the  Lorn.  After 
the  fall  of  Plevna,  he  placed  portions  of  his  troops  in  Shumla 
and  Rustchuk,  and  took  the  remainder  south  of  the  Balkans. 
In  the  Dobrudzha,  General  Zimmermann  was  confined  to  a 
purely  defensive  role.  Pie  covered  the  Russian  line  of  com¬ 
munication  against  any  attacks  from  that  direction. 

General  Gurko,  in  the  first  week  of  November,  took  a  de¬ 
tachment  of  thirty-six  thousand  men  and  went  along  the  Sofia 
road  toward  the  Balkans,  in  order  to  engage  with  Mehemet 
Ali  Pasha,  who  was  now  trying  to  come  to  the  aid  of  Plevna. 
The  Turks  were  in  possession  of  all  the  roads  across  the  Bal¬ 
kans.  Gurko  succeeded,  in  a  week's  time,  in  dislodging  the 
enemy  from  Pravets,  Etropol,  and  all  their  strongholds  at  the 
foot  of  the  Balkans,  and  in  driving  him  back  to  the  crest  of 
the  range.  He  also  captured  immense  quantities  of  ammuni¬ 
tion  and  supplies  of  every  kind.  The  Roumanian  reserve, 
crossing  the  Danube  above  Nikopolis,  had  captured  Rahova 
on  the  nineteenth  of  November,  and  bombarded  Lompalanka 
for  six  days,  causing  the  Turks  to  retire.  The  country  be- 


368 


HISTORY  OP  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XIV. 


tween  the  Danube  and  the  Balkans  for  a  distance  of  two  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifty-six  kilometers  was  absolutely  in  the  hands  of 
the  Russians.  After  the  capitulation  of  Plevna,  they  could 
in  safety  cross  the  Balkans  and  advance  toward  Constanti- 


CHAPTER  XV. 


THE  TURKO-  RUSSIAN  WAR 

1877. 

The  Campaign  in  Asia.  —  Reverses. — Battle  of  Aladja-Dagh.  — 
Storming  of  Kars.  —  Passage  of  the  Balkans.  —  Advance  upon 
Constantinople.  —  End  of  the  War. 


THE  CAMPAIGN  IN  ASIA. -REVERSES. 

PASKIEVITCH  in  eighteen  hundred  and  twenty-eight, 
and  General  Muravief  in  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-five, 
conducted  successful  operations  in  Armenia,  which  resulted  in 
practical  gains  for  the  Russians.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  war 
in  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-six  the  Russian  Cabinet  re¬ 
solved,  if  possible,  to  renew  the  traditions  of  those  glorious 
exploits.  The  troops  which  were  mobilized  for  this  Cau¬ 
casian  campaign  were  under  the  general  control  of  the  Grand 
Duke  Mikhail,  the  Emperor’s  eldest  brother ;  and,  exclusive 
of  a  detachment  to  guard  the  Black  Sea  coast  and  capture 
Batum,  amounted  to  fifty-five  thousand  infantry  and  ten  thou¬ 
sand  cavalry,  with  two  hundred  and  ten  guns.  Opposed  to 
them  were  fifty  thousand  Turks,  under  Mukhtar  Pasha,  dis¬ 
tributed  at  Ardahan,  Kars,  Erzerum,  and  other  points.  At 
Batum  there  were  twenty  thousand  men.  The  Rion  detach¬ 
ment  advanced  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  April  against  Batum  ; 
but,  falling  in  with  a  Turkish  force  under  Dervish  Pasha,  was 
defeated  and  driven  back  across  the  border,  and  for  the  rest 

24 


VOL.  III. 


370 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XV. 


of  the  campaign  was  occupied  in  preventing  the  Turks  from 
landing  reinforcements  and  in  putting  down  insurrections 
stirred  up  by  the  Tcherkesui. 

Simultaneously  with  the  advance  of  the  Rion  detachment 
the  other  three  columns  of  the  Russians  crossed  the  border. 
In  order  to  penetrate  to  Erzerum  they  were  obliged  to  capture 
Kars,  the  strongest  fortress  in  Armenia,  and  to  cross  the 
Soganli  Mountains.  The  plan  of  the  campaign  was  to  advance 
against  the  capital  of  Armenia  after  capturing  Ardahan  and 
Ba'iazid  and  investing  Kars.  General  Loris-Melikof,  after  a 
four  days’  march  from  Alexandropol,  established  himself  six¬ 
teen  kilometers  from  Kars  and  cut  off  communication  between 
that  city  and  Ardahan  ;  then,  learning  that  the  garrison  of 
Ardahan  was  very  weak,  he  sent  a  portion  of  his  troops  to 
co-operate  with  General  Devel  in  the  capture  of  that  fortress. 
On  the  morning  of  the  sixteenth  of  May  the  bombardment 
began  ;  at  night  the  Russians  captured  a  fort  which  com¬ 
manded  the  city.  The  next  day,  after  a  short  but  destructive 
bombardment,  General  Melikof  gave  the  order  to  assault.  It 
was  then  six  o’clock  in  the  afternoon  ;  the  Turks  did  not  wait 
to  defend  their  works,  but  fled  precipitately,  leaving  the  town 
in  the  hands  of  the  Russians,  who  lost  less  than  five  hundred 
and  fifty  men.  In  the  mean  time  General  Tergukasof  cap¬ 
tured  Baiazid,  and  left  a  small  garrison  there,  which  was 
almost  immediately  surrounded  by  a  force  of  ten  thousand 
infantry  and  a  horde  of  many  thousand  Kurds.  This  little 
band  of  sixteen  hundred  Russians  sustained  a  siege  of  twenty- 
three  days,  during  which  they  were  brought  to  the  extremity 
of  living  on  their  dead  horses.  After  the  capture  of  Ardahan, 
Loris-Melikof  returned  to  the  neighborhood  of  Kars,  and  estab¬ 
lishing  sixty  guns  and  mortars  on  three  sides  of  the  city, 
began  the  bombardment,  which  continued  until  the  twenty- 
fifth  of  June,  when,  on  account  of  the  Russians  having  been 
completely  repulsed  at  Zevin,  he  was  obliged  to  raise  the 
siege  and  retire  to  the  border.  The  fruit  of  the  summer  cam- 


1877.] 


THE  TUBKO-KUsSSIAN  WAR. 


371 


paign  was  simply  the  capture  of  Ardalmn :  but  they  had  ten 
thousand  men  less  than  at  the  beginning  of  the  war.  The 
skirmishes  and  battles  which  took  place  in  August  and  Sep¬ 
tember  were  of  not  much  importance,  but  resulted  generally 
in  the  discomfiture  of  the  Russians.  On  the  twenty-fifth  of 
August,  Mukhtar  Pasha,  with  ten  thousand  men,  attacked  the 
Russians  at  a  little  hill  called  Kizil  Tepe.  The  battle  lasted 
all  day,  but  the  Turks  gained  the  position.  Mukhtar  Pasha, 
however,  failed  to  follow  up  his  advantage ;  with  energy  he 
might  either  have  cut  off  the  Russians  from  Alexandropol  or 
compelled  them  to  retreat. 

BATTLE  OF  ALADJA-DAGH.  —  STORMING  OF  KARS. 

Toward  the  end  of  September  the  long-expected  reinforce¬ 
ments  arrived,  and  the  Grand  Duke  Mikhail,  with  fifty-five 
thousand  infantry  and  eight  thousand  cavalry,  was  prepared  to 
grapple  with  his  opponents,  who  numbered  about  thirty-six 
thousand  men  and  occupied  the  hills  studding  the  plain  of 
Kars.  The  Russians  assaulted  the  Turkish  left  flank  on  the 
second  of  October ;  but,  though  they  in  places  gained  the 
advantage,  on  the  whole  the  battle  was  a  failure ;  they  were 
obliged  to  retreat  and  leave  the  Turks  in  possession  of  the 
hills. 

Mukhtar  Pasha,  however,  believing  either  that  the  approach 
of  winter  would  prevent  the  Russians  from  making  any  further 
attacks,  or  that  his  line  of  defence  would  be  strengthened  by 
being  shortened,  evacuated  the  hills  on  the  night  of  October 
the  ninth,  and  concentrated  his  troops  on  the  heights  of  Vizin- 
kioi,  Avliar,  and  Aladja-Dagh,  southeast  of  Kars.  The  Rus¬ 
sians  immediately  assumed  the  positions  left  by  the  Turks,  and 
prepared  to  dislodge  them  from  the  heights.  General  Lazaref, 
making  forced  marches  by  night  and  unrolling  behind  him  a 
line  of  telegraph,  established  himself  in  the  rear  of  the  left 
flank  of  the  Turks,  in  instant  communication  with  the  Grand 


3?2 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XV. 


Duke’s  headquarters.  On  the  fifteenth  the  assault  upon  the 
mountain  took  place,  and,  owing  to  the  terrible  execution  of 
the  Russian  guns,  which  were  loaded  with  shrapnel,  was 
entirely  successful.  The  right  wing  of  the  Turks,  under 
command  of  Omar  Pasha,  was  surrounded  and  obliged  to 
surrender.  Half  of  Mukhtar  Pasha’s  army  was  destroyed, 
and  the  rest  fled  panic-stricken  to  Kars.  In  the  hands  of  the 
Russians  remained  seven  thousand  prisoners,  thirty-five  guns, 
and  immense  stores  of  ammunition  and  provisions.  Mukhtar 
Pasha  himself,  leaving  the  defence  of  Kars  to  Hussein  Pasha, 
and  abandoning  Zevin  and  Ienikioi,  retreated  to  Erzerum, 
where,  with  seventeen  thousand  or  eighteen  thousand  men,  he 
began  to  intrench  himself.  General  Heimann  pursued  him, 
and  on  the  fourth  of  November,  in  a  battle  which  lasted  all 
day,  finally  carried  the  line  of  fortification,  captured  the  Turk¬ 
ish  camp  with  forty-three  guns  and  much  ammunition,  and 
forced  Mukhtar  Pasha  to  retire  into  the  line  of  forts  surround¬ 
ing  Erzerum.  After  several  abortive  attempts  to  storm  the 
place,  he  settled  down  to  wait  for  reinforcements,  and  was 
overtaken  by  winter. 

The  rest  of  the  Russian  troops  were  sent  to  the  investment 
of  Kars.  Kars,  a  city  of  thirty  thousand  inhabitants,  is  situ¬ 
ated  in  the  plain  and  on  the  river  of  the  same  name.  “  Be¬ 
hind  it  on  the  west  and  southwest,”  says  Lieutenant  Greene, 
“  are  volcanic  spurs  jutting  out  from  the  Soganli  range ;  the 
river  follows  the  base  of  these  spurs  to  the  town,  but  here  cuts 
through  a  rent  in  the  mountain  and  forms  a  precipitous  ravine 
several  hundred  feet  deep.  On  the  west,  north,  and  northeast 
of  the  town  are,  therefore,  high,  rocky,  and  almost  inaccessible 
hills ;  on  the  southeast  is  an  open  rocky  plain.  The  fortifica¬ 
tions,  as  they  existed  in  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-seven, 
had  almost  all  been  built  since  the  Crimean  war,  under  the 
direction,  it  is  said,  of  Prussian  engineers.  They  consisted  of 
a  citadel  in  masonry,  built  on  a  perpendicular  rock  overhang¬ 
ing  the  gorge  just  north  of  the  town,  and  of  twelve  detached 


1877.] 


THE  TUBKO-RUSSIAN  WAS, 


373 


forts.”  The  garrison  consisted  of  about  twenty-three  thousand 
men,  and  there  were  upwards  of  two  hundred  Krupp  guns. 

On  the  twenty-eighth  of  October  General  Loris-Melikof 
summoned  Hussein  Pasha  to  surrender ;  but  the  Turks  were 
determined  to  defend  themselves  to  the  last.  They  were  now 
so  closely  surrounded  that  no  one  could  go  in  or  out  without 
the  permission  of  the  Russians.  On  the  fifth  of  November 
ten  Turkish  battalions  issued  from  Port  Hafiz  Pasha  and  tried 
to  prevent  the  erection  of  new  batteries  on  Vizinkioi.  They 
were  repulsed,  however,  and  driven  out  of  their  fort,  leaving 
the  guns  spiked. 

The  Grand  Duke  Mikhail,  knowing  that  the  garrison  of 
Kars  had  sufficient  provisions  to  last  them  half  a  year,  and 
that  it  would  be  a  difficult  operation  to  keep  up  the  invest¬ 
ment  through  a  severe  winter  for  a  line  of  nearly  fifteen 
kilometers,  determined  to  strike  a  quick  and  sudden  blow. 
The  assault  was  fixed  for  the  night  of  the  fifteenth  of  Novem¬ 
ber  ;  but,  in  consequence  of  the  bad  weather  and  the  obscurity 
of  the  moon,  it  was  postponed  until  the  night  of  the  seven¬ 
teenth. 

The  Grand  Duke  thus  describes  the  action  :  — 

“  On  the  evening  of  the  seventeenth  all  the  troops  assembled 
at  the  points  indicated,  and  at  half  past  eight  the  columns 
moved  forward.  A  perfectly  clear  sky  and  the  full  moon 
which  had  just  risen  gave  promise  of  a  clear  and  calm  night ; 
the  temperature,  which  had  fallen  below  the  freezing  point 
during  the  morning,  was  growing  colder  and  colder.  A 
solemn  and  cold  silence  reigned  in  the  air,  and  the  most  atten¬ 
tive  ear  could  not  have  distinguished  any  noise  in  the  least 
alarming.  The  line  of  our  skirmishers,  dimly  seen,  was  ad¬ 
vancing  prudently,  step  by  step,  followed  by  the  troops  for  the 
assault,  which  at  first  marched  in  compact  columns,  then,  as 
they  approached  the  line  of  attack,  formed  in  deployed  order 
in  company  column. 

"  About  nine  o’clock  some  shots  were  heard  at  the  Turkish 


374 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XY. 


outposts,  and  then,  as  ours  did  not  reply,  they  ceased.  Only 
our  batteries  at  Djavra  as  a  signal  opened  a  cannonade 
against  the  heights  of  Tekinas,  attracting  the  attention  and 
forces  of  the  enemy  toward  this  point.  But  not  a  half-hour 
elapsed  before  a  musketry  fire  of  the  Turks  burst  forth  along 
the  whole  line  of  attack,  and  after  a  few  minutes  the  works 
and  the  trenches  of  the  forts  which  had  been  attacked  began  a 
continuous  firing.” 

The  three  columns  pressed  forward  against  the  positions 
which  they  had  been  assigned  to  storm.  Tort  Suvari  was 
taken  in  half  an  hour.  General  Grabbe  was  shot  dead  in 
front  of  Fort  Kanly ;  at  four  o’clock  the  Pasha  surrendered, 
but  only  three  hundred  men  were  left  of  its  garrison.  At 
Fort  Hafiz  Pasha  a  terrible  struggle  ensued,  but  at  last,  as  the 
Grand  Duke  said,  “  the  garrison  was  crushed  to  pieces  and 
annihilated.”  At  daybreak  the  Russians  had  possession  of  all 
the  fortifications  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Kars  River.  Two 
hours  later  the  rest  of  the  garrison,  thoroughly  demoralized, 
were  flying  toward  Erzerum,  pursued  and  cut  down  by  the 
Cossacks.  Hussein  Pasha  managed  to  escape.  Lieutenant 
Greene  says  :  “  It  was  a  good  night’s  work,  —  a  fortified  place 
of  the  first  order  captured  in  open  assault,  with  seventeen 
thousand  prisoners,  three  hundred  and  three  guns  of  various 
calibre,  twenty-five  thousand  or  more  small  arms,  and  an  im¬ 
mense  quantity  of  provisions  and  material  of  all  kinds.”  The 
Russians  lost  in  this  battle  only  seventy-seven  officers  and  two 
thousand  one  hundred  and  ninety-six  men.  Thus,  for  the 
third  time  within  fifty  years  the  Russians  had  possession  of 
Kars. 

In  the  following  month  one  division  was  sent  to  aid  in  the 
investment  of  Erzerum  ;  but  the  severity  of  the  winter  and  the 
difficulty  of  establishing  the  siege  batteries  caused  so  much 
delay  that  it  was  only  on  the  twelfth  of  January  that  Mukhtar 
Pasha  was  finally  shut  off  from  communication  with  Trebizond. 
General  Heimann  had  already  summoned  him  to  surrender,  so 


1877.] 


THE  TURKO-RUSSIAN  WAR. 


375 


as  to  spare  the  city  the  horrors  of  a  bombardment,  but  the 
offer  was  declined.  One  of  the  conditions  of  the  armistice  of 
January  thirty-first  was  the  evacuation  of  the  city,  and  on  the 
tenth  of  February  the  garrison  marched  out  and  embarked  for 
Constantinople.  Thus  ended  the  campaign  of  Armenia,  to  the 
glory  of  the  Russian  arms. 

PASSAGE  OF  THE  BALKANS.  -  ADVANCE  UPON 

CONSTANTINOPLE. 

The  Grand  Duke  Nikolai*,  against  the  advice  of  all  his  gen¬ 
erals,  except  Gurko  and  Skobelef,  resolved  to  continue  the 
campaign  through  the  winter,  and  to  cross  the  Balkans  before 
the  Turks  had  time  to  recuperate.  Todleben  and  the  other 
officers  advised  “  the  prudent  military  course  ”  of  putting  the 
troops  into  winter-quarters,  of  investing  Rustchuk,  and  waiting 
until  spring  for  the  passage  of  the  mountains.  The  plan  of 
the  winter  campaign  was  for  Gurko  “  to  defeat  the  army  in  his 
front  at  the  Araba-Konak  Pass,  capture  Sofia,  and  then  ad¬ 
vance  by  the  old  Roman  road  leading  from  Sofia  past  Philip- 
polis  to  Adrianople;  Radetski  was  to  defeat  the  Turks  at 
Shipka,  advance  over  that  pass,  and  join  Gurko  in  front  of 
Adrianople ;  while  the  Tsesarevitch,  commanding  all  the 
troops  left  on  the  north  of  the  Balkans,  was  to  protect  the  com¬ 
munications  from  any  attack  from  the  direction  of  the  Quadri¬ 
lateral  and  prosecute  the  siege  of  Rustchuk,  with  the  assistance 
of  Todleben  as  his  chief  engineer.” 

General  Gurko  had  an  army  of  sixty-five  thousand  infantry 
and  six  thousand  cavalry,  with  two  hundred  and  eighty  guns. 
The  winter  had  set  in  with  great  severity.  The  roads  were 
slippery,  and  the  horses  were  useless  in  dragging  the  guns, 
each  of  which  had  to  be  hauled  and  pushed  by  more  than  a 
hundred  men  up  over  a  mountain  crest  nearly  five  hundred 
and  fifty  meters  above  the  valley.  The  men  subsisted  the 
while  on  less  than  a  ration  of  black  biscuit,  and  slept  in  the 


376 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XY. 


snow.  On  the  thirtieth  of  December  all  the  guns  were  in 
the  Kuriak  valley,  and  the  Turkish  position  was  turned.  On 
the  first  day  of  January  the  Turks  abandoned  all  their  fortifi¬ 
cations  at  Araba-Konak,  and  two  days  later  left  Sofia  in  the 
hands  of  the  Russians,  with  enough  provisions  to  last  Gurko’s 
army  a  month.  Had  it  not  been  that  one  of  the  detachments 
sent  as  a  second  turning  column  had  been  overwhelmed  by  a 
snow-storm  and  obliged  to  give  up  the  undertaking,  the  Turk¬ 
ish  force  would  in  all  probability  have  been  captured  or  de¬ 
stroyed.  Gurko  then  advanced  from  Sofia  to  Philippolis, 
completely  destroying  Suleiman  Pasha’s  army,  which  amounted 
to  fifty  or  sixty  thousand  men. 

Meantime,  during  the  first  week  of  January,  General  Kartsof 
succeeded  in  crossing  the  Balkans  by  the  Trojan  Pass,  with  a 
loss  of  only  a  hundred  men  out  of  four  thousand  five  hundred. 
The  passage  at  Shipka  Pass,  which  had  been  in  the  hands  of 
the  Russians  for  five  months,  was  considered  a  remarkably 
brilliant  feat.  General  Radetski  had1  at  his  disposal  a  force  of 
fifty-six  thousand  infantry,  of  which  more  than  six  thousand 
men  were  sick  from  frost-bites  and  exposure.  Radetski,  re¬ 
maining  in  the  works  at  the  summit  of  the  pass,  sent  General 
Skobelef  and  Prince  Mirski  to  cross  the  mountain  on  both 
flanks  of  the  enemy  and  attack  the  pass  at  the  south,  while  he 
entered  simultaneously  with  his  own  forces  from  the  north. 
Although  the  snow  was  in  places  over  three  meters  in  depth, 
both  columns  succeeded  in  getting  into  the  valley ;  Prince 
Mirski  met  with  no  opposition  in  the  descent,  but  had  a  hard 
fight  on  the  eighth  and  ninth,  near  the  village  of  Shipka,  which 
he  carried ;  Skobelef,  on  the  other  hand,  was  much  delayed 
on  his  march  by  the  Turks,  who  occupied  a  ridge  northeast  of 
the  village  of  Imetli  and  outflanked  him.  On  the  ninth  oc¬ 
curred  the  most  brilliant  assault  of  the  whole  war.  Skobelef, 
who  had  been  obliged  to  leave  all  his  artillery,  attacked  the 
Shenovo  redoubts  and  carried  them,  causing  Vesil  Pasha,  who 
commanded  the  Turkish  army,  to  surrender  his  whole  force. 


1877.] 


THE  TURKO-RUSSIAN  WAR. 


377 


Twelve  thousand  laid  down  their  arms  at  Shenovo,  besides  the 
twenty-four  thousand  posted  on  the  mountains.  The  Russian 
loss  was  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  officers  and  five  thousand 
three  hundred  and  forty-nine  men,  or  twenty-two  per  cent  of 
those  who  were  brought  under  fire. 

“  The  capture  of  this  Shipka  army,”  says  Lieutenant  Greene, 
“  surpasses  in  boldness  and  brilliancy  the  advance  of  Gurko 
over  the  Balkans  at  Araba-Konak.  Although  Radetski’s  at¬ 
tack  in  front  caused  him  terrible  losses,  and  apparently  gained 
no  result,  yet  without  this  it  is  possible  that  the  Turks  might 
have  withdrawn  from  the  mountains  under  cover  of  the  fog, 
and,  concentrating  about  Shipka  village,  have  broken  through 
between  Mirski  and  Skobelef,  and  escaped  to  the  south  ;  and 
although  Mirski  may  be  blamed  for  opening  his  attack  before 
he  had  established  communication  with  Skobelef,  according  to 
the  plan  of  battle,  yet  it  is  possible  that,  had  he  remained  idle 
at  Gusevo  during  the  eighth,  the  Turks  might  have  discovered 
him  and  begun  to  retreat.  Finally  Skobelef  s  energetic  attack, 
as  soon  as  he  had  got  all  his  men  together  in  the  valley,  was 
one  of  the  most  splendid  assaults  ever  made.” 

After  the  capture  of  Shipka  and  the  battle  of  Philippolis 
the  Turkish  troops  blew  up  the  powder-magazines  and  aban¬ 
doned  Adrianople.  On  the  twentieth  of  January  the  Russians 
entered  the  city.  The  Turkish  inhabitants  of  all  the  region 
fled  in  panic  at  the  approach  of  the  victorious  army.  The 
Russian  troops  fell  in  with  one  immense  train  of  refugees, 
numbering  two  hundred  thousand  people,  who  were  deserted 
by  their  escort  after  a  sharp  skirmish,  and  then  plundered 
by  the  Bulgarians  of  the  neighboring  villages.  Thousands  of 
helpless  women  and  children  perished  in  the  snow  or  were 
massacred  by  their  cruel  plunderers. 

On  the  twenty -ninth  of  January  the  last  shot  of  the  war  was 
fired  at  Tchorlul  Two  days  later,  two  hundred  and  eighty - 
two  days  after  the  declaration  of  war,  the  Turkish  commission¬ 
ers  signed  the  armistice  which  served  as  a  basis  for  peace. 


378 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XV. 


The  conditions  were  these :  The  erection  of  Bulgaria  into  an 
autonomous  tributary  principality,  with  a  native  Christian 
government  and  a  native  militia ;  the  independence  of  Monte¬ 
negro,  Rumania,  and  Servia,  with  additions  of  territory  ;  the 
introduction  of  administrative  reforms  into  Bosnia  and  the 
Herzegovina ;  the  surrender  of  Viddin,  Rustchuk,  and  Silistria 
on  the  Danube ;  the  evacuation  of  Bielgradjok,  Rasgrad,  Ba- 
zardjok,  and  the  fortifications  of  the  line  of  Buiuk-Tchekmedje  ; 
and,  lastly,  the  payment  of  a  war  indemnity  to  Russia. 

On  the  twelfth  of  February  the  British  fleet  passed  through 
the  Dardanelles  and  anchored  near  Constantinople,  while  the 
Russians  advanced  to  San  Stefano  on  the  Sea  of  Marmora. 

END  OF  THE  WAR. 

On  the  third  of  March  the  Treaty  of  San  Stefano  was  signed 
by  Ignatief  and  Nelidof  on  the  part  of  Russia,  and  Savfet  and 
Sadullah  on  the  part  of  Turkey.  It  seemed  as  if  Russia  had 
reached  the  goal  of  its  ambition.  Turkey  was  completely  in 
its  hands.  A  part  of  the  war  indemnity,  amounting  to  eleven 
hundred  million  rubles,  was  to  be  exchanged  for  territory  in 
Bessarabia  and  Armenia ;  and  the  rest,  or  three  hundred  and 
ten  millions,  was  to  be  paid  in  money.  But  the  Great  Pow¬ 
ers,  having  allowed  Turkey  to  be  reduced  to  this  extremity ? 
now  suddenly  determined  to  block  Russia’s  plans.  They  re¬ 
fused  to  consent  to  a  separate  treaty  between  Turkey  and 
Russia.  England  began  to  make  extensive  military  prepara¬ 
tions,  and  at  the  same  time  obliged  Greece,  which  on  the  first 
of  February  had  declared  war,  to  withdraw  its  troops  from  the 
Turkish  provinces.  It  was  proposed  to  hold  a  congress  at 
Berlin  and  discuss  the  Treaty  of  San  Stefano.  Russia  at  first 
declined  to  submit  to  this  project ;  but,  seeing  that  England 
was  in  earnest,  at  last  it  yielded.  On  the  thirteenth  of  June 
Lord  Beaconsfield,  Gortchakof,  Shuvalof,  Andrassy,  and  Bis¬ 
marck,  together  with  the  other  plenipotentiaries,  met  at  Berlin  ; 


1877.] 


THE  TURKO-RUSSIAN  WAR. 


379 


the  congress  lasted  a  month,  and  in  the  twenty  sessions  which 
took  place  the  Treaty  of  San  Stefano  was  amended  by  subtrac¬ 
tions  and  additions.  The  Turkish  Empire  was  again  put  in  a 
position  of  comparative  stability  and  independence.  Bulgaria 
was  divided  into  three  unequal  parts :  Bulgaria  proper  was  to 
be  autonomous  ;  Southeastern  Bulgaria,  now  called  Rumelia, 
was  to  have  a  Christian  governor-general  under  the  control  of 
the  Porte ;  and  the  country  stretching  westward  from  the 
Rhodope  to  Mount  Pindus,  with  one  million  five  hundred 
thousand  inhabitants,  was  handed  back  to  the  Sultan.  Bos¬ 
nia  and  the  Herzegovina  were  to  be  occupied  by  Austria ; 
Montenegro  and  Serbia  were  recognized  as  independent,  and 
their  boundaries  were  regulated ;  Rumania  was  enlarged 
south  of  the  Danube,  as  a  compensation  for  the  loss  of  part 
of  Bessarabia,  which  was  ceded  to  Russia.  Batum,  Ardahan, 
and  Kars,  together  with  the  adjacent  territory,  were  also  given 
to  Russia.  Batum,  however,  was  to  be  a  free  commercial 
port.  Lord  Salisbury,  in  his  despatch  to  the  English  Govern¬ 
ment  announcing  the  conclusion  of  the  Treaty  of  Berlin,  thus 
summed  up  the  results  :  “  The  Sultan’s  dominions  have  been 
provided  with  a  defensible  frontier,  far  removed  from  his 
capital.  The  interposition  of  the  Austrian  power  between  the 
two  independent  Slav  States,  while  it  withdraws  from  him  no 
territory  of  strategical  or  financial  value,  offers  him  a  security 
against  renewed  aggression  on  their  part  which  no  other  pos¬ 
sible  arrangement  could  have  furnished.  Rich  and  extensive 
provinces  have  been  restored  to  his  rule  at  the  same  time  that 
careful  provision  against  future  misgovernment  has  been  made, 
which  will,  it  may  be  hoped,  assure  their  loyalty  and  prevent 
a  recurrence  of  the  calamities  which  have  brought  the  Ottoman 
Power  to  the  verge  of  ruin.  Arrangements  of  a  different 
kind,  but  having  the  same  end  in  view,  have  provided  for  the 
Asiatic  dominions  of  the  Sultan  security  for  the  present  and 
the  hope  of  prosperity  and  stability  in  the  future.  Whether 
use  will  be  made  of  this  —  probably  the  last  —  opportunity 


380 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XV. 


which  has  been  thus  obtained  for  Turkey  by  the  interposition 
of  the  powers  of  Europe,  and  of  England  in  particular,  or 
whether  it  is  to  be  thrown  away,  will  depend  upon  the  sincer¬ 
ity  with  which  Turkish  statesmen  now  address  themselves  to 
the  duties  of  good  government  and  the  task  of  reform.” 

If  England  found  cause  for  self-congratulation  upon  the 
result  of  the  Berlin  congress  and  the  acquisition  of  Cyprus, 
Russia,  whose  immense  sacrifices  in  blood  and  treasure  wTere 
scarcely  requited,  might  well  complain.  Aksakof,  who  was 
intimate  with  the  Tsesarevitch,  expressed  the  general  discon¬ 
tent  when  at  a  session  of  the  Moscow  Slav  Committee  he  de¬ 
clared  that  the  congress  was  a  colossal  absurdity,  a  blundering 
failure,  and  an  impudent  outrage  upon  Russian  sensibilities ; 
that  Russia  had  been  mocked  with  a  fool’s  cap  and  bells, 
and  that  Russian  diplomacy  was  more  destructive  than  nihil¬ 
ism  ;  that  the  honor  of  Russia  had  been  trampled  under  foot 
and  made  a  mockery.  Aksakof,  as  a  punishment  for  his  out¬ 
spoken  denunciations,  was  banished  to  his  estates.  For  the 
same  reasons  the  sale  of  the  Golos  was  for  weeks  forbidden 
upon  the  streets. 

The  Emperor,  in  order  to  clear  away  the  distrust  with 
which  England  and  Germany  regarded  the  delay  of  the  Rus¬ 
sian  troops  on  Turkish  territory,  publicly  declared  that  the 
strict  fulfilment  of  the  Berlin  Treaty  was  his  policy,  and  on 
the  eighth  of  February,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-nine, 
the  supplementary  convention  between  Russia  and  Turkey  was 
signed  at  Constantinople.  The  war  indemnity  was  fixed,  after 
deducting  the  value  of  the  territory  ceded  to  Russia,  at  eight 
hundred  and  two  million  five  hundred  thousand  francs.  Soon 
after  the  troops  began  to  leave  the  principalities.  By  the  tenth 
of  March  Reuf  Pasha  re-entered  Adrianople ;  but  it  was  esti¬ 
mated  that  twenty  thousand  of  the  inhabitants,  fearing  the  vio¬ 
lence  of  the  Turks,  left  the  land  with  the  Russians.  The 
new  province  of  East  Rumelia  was  evacuated  in  July.  The 
governor-general,  Aleko  Pasha,  under  the  nominal  suzerainty 


1877.] 


THE  TURKO-RUSSI  AN  WAR. 


381 


of  the  Sultan,  won  immediate  popularity  by  discarding  the  fez 
and  wearing  the  Bulgarian  national  dress,  by  causing  the  Bul¬ 
garian  flag  to  be  raised  instead  of  the  Turkish,  and  by  select¬ 
ing  the  members  of  his  council  from  the  natives.  Bulgaria 
was  also  reorganized ;  the  first  national  parliament  met  at 
Trnova  on  February  twenty-third,  under  the  presidency  of  the 
Russian  governor-general,  and  proceeded  to  discuss  the  con¬ 
stitution,  which  was  finally  accepted  on  the  twenty-eighth  of 
April.  On  the  following  day  Prince  Von  Batten  berg,  a  nephew 
of  the  Russian  Emperor,  was  chosen  as  the  first  hereditary 
prince  under  the  title  of  Alexander  the  First.  A  deputa¬ 
tion  of  Bulgarians  expressed  to  the  Emperor  the  thanks  of  the 
nation  for  his  assistance  in  accomplishing  their  freedom.  By 
the  third  of  August  the  Balkan  Peninsula  was  completely 
evacuated. 


V 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

ASSASSINATION  OF  THE  EMPEROR 

1881. 

Popular  Discontent.  —  Assassination  of  the  Emperor. 


TURKEY,  which  during  the  two  previous  years  had  passed 
through  many  serious  ministerial  crises,  which  was  van¬ 
quished  in  the  war,  bankrupt,  and  dismembered,  seemed  to  be 
in  a  desperate  condition ;  but  victorious  Russia  was  scarcely 
better  off.  It  was  said  that  if  Constantinople  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  Russians  it  would  prove  the  Achilles’  heel  of  the 
empire  ;  nevertheless,  the  popular  discontent  that  not  one  foot 
of  land  had  been  gained  beyond  the  Danube,  emphasized  by 
the  financial  depression,  by  the  taxes  and  the  paper  currency, 
began  to  express  itself  in  revolutionary  measures.  In  April, 
eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-eight,  Viera  Sasulitch  shot  Gen¬ 
eral  Trepof,  but  was  acquitted  at  the  trial.  In  August  General 
Mezentsof,  chief  of  the  hated  “  Third  Section,”  was  assassinated, 
and  the  arrests  from  Arkhangelsk  to  Kholmogorui  showed 
how  widespread  the  disaffection  was.  The  university  students 
of  Saint  Petersburg,  Moscow,  and  Kief,  and  the  assembly  of 
Kharkof,  demanded  a  constitution,  and  were  rudely  arrested 
and  sent  to  Siberia.  In  April,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy- 
nine,  Solovief  shot  at  the  Emperor,  who,  in  order  to  quiet  the 
panic,  called  Valuief  to  form  a  special  commission,  with  ex¬ 
treme  powers,  to  crush  these  nihilistic  proceedings.  In  spite  of 
all  such  arbitrary  proceedings,  revolutionary  pamphlets  were 
everywhere  circulated.  Among  other  things,  they  demanded 


1881.] 


ASSASSINATION  OF  THE  EMPEROR. 


383 


that  the  people  should  be  delivered  from  the  espionage  of  the 
police,  that  the  press  and  speech  should  be  free,  that  professors 
should  be  allowed  to  teach  unrestricted,  and  that  amnesty 
should  be  granted  to  political  offenders.  To  the  arbitrary 
measures  of  General  Miliutin  the  revolutionary  committees 
called  upon  the  army  to  respond,  saying  :  “  Despotism  must 
fall  sooner  or  later,  but  still  the  crisis  may  not  come  for  years, 
to  the  cost  of  many  lives.  It  therefore  depends  on  all  honor¬ 
able  and  thoughtful  men  in  the  army  to  hasten  this  result.,, 
In  April,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-nine,  the  excitement 
was  still  further  increased  by  General  Gurko’s  order  compel¬ 
ling  every  householder  in  Saint  Petersburg  to  keep  a  watch¬ 
man  at  his  door  day  and  night  to  prevent  the  posting  of 
seditious  placards  and  the  spreading  of  revolutionary  pam¬ 
phlets.  The  cities  of  Saint  Petersburg,  Moscow,  Kief,  Khar- 
kof,  and  Odessa  were  declared  to  be  in  a  state  of  siege,  and 
the  police  were  authorized  to  expel  all  persons  considered 
dangerous.  Throughout  the  summer  fires  of  incendiary  origin 
broke  out  in  all  the  larger  cities  of  the  empire ;  during  May 
there  were  seventeen  thousand  three  hundred  conflagrations, 
causing  a  loss  of  upwards  of  two  million  rubles.  The  life  of 
the  Tsar  was  attempted,  now  by  blowing  up  a  railroad,  now  by 
boldly  undermining  the  Winter  Palace.  Alexander  was  pub¬ 
licly  declared  to  be  the  personification  of  a  cursed  despotism, 
and  of  everything  mean  and  bloodthirsty ;  his  reign  was  de¬ 
nounced  as  a  curse  from  beginning  to  end,  the  liberation  of 
the  serfs  a  delusion  and  a  lie. 

A  slight  reaction  set  in  when  the  enlightened  Armenian, 
General  Loris-Melikof,  was  called  to  the  assistance  of  the  Tsar 
and  immediately  established  a  certain  measure  of  freedom  in 
place  of  the  absurd  repressionary  measures  of  the  “  Third  Sec¬ 
tion  ;  ”  this  part  of  the  police  was  abolished. 

The  nihilistic  committees,  however,  still  continued  their  ac¬ 
tivity,  and  the  Emperor  was  frequently  threatened  with  assas¬ 
sination  unless  he  should  give  the  country  a  constitution. 


384 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XVI. 


On  the  thirteenth  of  March,  eighteen  hundred  and  eighty- 
one,  Alexander  attended  a  review,  and  afterwards  took  coffee 
at  the  Mikhailovski  Palace  with  his  sister,  the  Princess  Alex¬ 
andra.  On  his  return,  as  he  was  driving  along  the  Iekateri- 
novski  Canal,  an  Orsini  bomb  was  thrown,  which  exploded  and 
tore  off  a  part  of  the  carriage.  The  Emperor  alighted  unhurt 
and  approached  the  assassin,  who  had  been  seized  by  two 
marines  and  the  chief  of  police,  Colonel  Dvorzhetski.  At 
this  instant  another  bomb  was  thrown  by  an  accomplice.  It 
burst,  and  shattered  the  Emperor’s  legs,  killed  the  man  who 
threw  it  and  a  small  boy  who  was  passing,  and  injured  a  large 
number  of  bystanders.  Colonel  Dvorzhetski  was  wounded  in 
sixty  places.  The  Emperor,  exclaiming  “  Help  me!”  fell  to 
the  ground  and  was  immediately  driven  to  the  Winter  Palace, 
where  he  died  in  the  middle  of  the  afternoon.  The  excite¬ 
ment  was  intense,  and  was  by  no  means  diminished  by  the 
discovery  of  a  mine  on  Little  Garden  Street  containing  more 
than  thirty-two  kilograms  of  dynamite,  connected  with  a  base¬ 
ment  leading  from  an  ostensible  milk  and  cheese  shop.  The 
editors  of  all  the  Saint  Petersburg  newspapers  were  summoned, 
and  commanded  to  write  guardedly. 

In  spite  of  the  care  of  the  police,  a  proclamation  by  the 
Executive  Committee  of  the  Nihilists  was  posted  in  a  conspic¬ 
uous  place.  It  read  as  follows  :  — 

“  The  Executive  Committee  consider  it  necessary  once  more 
to  announce  to  all  the  world  that  it  repeatedly  warned  the  tyrant 
now  assassinated,  repeatedly  advised  him  to  put  an  end  to  his 
homicidal  obstinacy  and  to  restore  to  Russia  its  natural  rights. 
Every  one  knows  that  the  tyrant  paid  no  attention  to  these 
warnings  and  pursued  his  former  policy.  Reprisals  continued. 
The  Executive  Committee  never  drop  their  weapons.  They 
resolved  to  execute  the  despot  at  whatever  cost.  On  the  first 
of  March  this  was  done. 

“  We  address  ourselves  to  the  newly  crowned  Alexander  the 
Third,  reminding  him  that  he  must  be  just.  Russia,  exhausted 


1881.] 


ASSASSINATION  OF  THE  EMPEROR. 


385 


by  famine,  worn  out  by  the  arbitrary  proceedings  of  the  admin¬ 
istration,  continually  losing  its  sons  on  the  gallows,  in  the 
mines,  in  exile,  or  in  wearisome  inactivity  caused  by  the  pres¬ 
ent  regime,  —  Russia  cannot  longer  live  thus.  She  demands 
liberty.  She  must  live  in  conformity  with  her  demands,  her 
wishes,  and  her  will.  We  remind  Alexander  the  Third  that 
every  violator  of  the  will  of  the  people  is  the  nation’s  enemy 
and  tyrant.  The  death  of  Alexander  the  Second  shows  the 
vengeance  which  follows  such  acts.” 

That  this  was  not  the  universal  feeling,  however,  is  shown 
by  the  naive  account  of  a  deputation  of  persons  who  came  to 
bring  their  votive  wreaths  to  put  upon  the  Emperor’s  bier  as 
he  lay  in  state  in  the  Petropavlovski  Cathedral. 

“  The  nearer  we  approached  the  cathedral,”  said  the  speak¬ 
er,  “  the  more  our  hearts  sank.  At  last  we  were  inside  the 
church.  There  were  many  generals  assembled, — thirty,  if 
not  more.  They  made  way  for  us.  We  all  dropped  on  our 
knees  and  sobbed  aloud.  We  bowed  our  heads  to  the  ground, 
nor  could  we  restrain  our  tears ;  they  kept  flowing  like  a  stream. 
0,  what  grief !  We  rose  from  our  knees.  Again  we  knelt 
and  again  we  sobbed.  This  we  did  three  times.  What  we 
felt  all  this  time,  how  our  hearts  were  aching  beside  the  coffin 
of  our  father  and  benefactor,  there  are  no  words  to  express. 
And  what  honor  was  done  us  !  Many  wreaths  were  lying  on 
the  coffin.  General  Rilaief  took  our  wreath  and  placed  it 
straightway  on  the  breast  of  our  Little  Father.  The  other 
wreaths  were  moved  aside.  Our  peasants’  wreath  was  laid  on 
his  heart.  As  during  his  whole  life  we  were  nearest  his  heart, 
so  after  his  death  our  offering  of  thanks  was  laid  on  his  mar¬ 
tyr  breast.  This  idea  so  affected  us  that  we  burst  into  tears. 
The  general  allowed  us  to  take  leave  of  the  Tsar.  We  kissed 
his  hand,  —  and  there  he  lay,  our  Tsar-martyr,  with  a  calm 
and  loving  expression  on  his  face,  as  if  he,  our  Little  Father, 
had  fallen  asleep.” 

The  funeral  procession,  on  the  nineteenth  of  March,  was 

vol.  hi.  25 


386 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XVI. 


most  imposing.  The  route  led  from  the  Winter  Palace  to  the 
Petropavlovski  Cathedral  by  the  Admiralty  and  the  English 
Quay,  across  the  Nikolaievski  bridge  into  the  fortress  by  the 
Ivanskaia  gate.  The  procession  had  thirteen  sections,  divided 
into  one  hundred  and  seventy-two  groups.  The  representa¬ 
tives  of  provincial  assemblies,  trade  guilds,  and  the  courts  of 
justice,  of  economic  and  philanthropic  societies,  were  in  full 
regalia.  The  “  bright  and  spotless  character  ”  of  the  late 
Emperor  was  represented  by  a  knight  in  golden  armor  on  a 
superb  steed  and  carrying  a  drawn  sword.  The  standards  of 
the  various  districts  of  the  empire  and  the  imperial  emblems 
were  carried  by  pages,  —  the  crowns  of  the  kingdoms,  the  im¬ 
perial  globe  and  sceptre,  the  four  swords  of  the  empire  re¬ 
versed,  the  fifty-seven  foreign  orders  and  decorations,  and  the 
seventeen  Russian  orders  and  medals,  borne  on  velvet  cushions. 
The  funeral  car  was  of  gilt,  drawn  by  eight  horses.  At  each 
corner  sat  one  of  the  late  Tsar's  aides,  and  the  cords  of  the 
pall  were  held  by  sixteen  generals.  Sixty  liveried  pages  fol¬ 
lowed  with  burning  torches.  Then  came  on  foot  the  new 
Emperor  in  the  full  uniform  of  the  Preobrazhenski  guard,  and 
the  other  members  of  the  imperial  family. 

On  the  day  of  the  funeral  mass,  March  twenty-seven,  it 
snowed.  The  scene  in  the  cathedral  was  impressive  in  the 
extreme.  The  cathedral  was  dimly  lighted.  The  silence  was 
broken  only  by  the  howling  of  the  storm.  The  heralds, 
dressed  in  black  velvet  trimmed  with  silver  braid  and  tassels, 
the  imperial  escutcheon  picked  out  in  dark  embroidery,  with 
the  crown  emblazoned  in  gold  on  their  breasts,  and  holding  in 
their  hands  their  tabards  surmounted  with  the  double-headed 
eagle  in  gold,  stood  waiting  for  the  mass  to  begin.  The  Em¬ 
peror,  wrapped  in  an  ermine  robe  with  a  sacred  picture  on  his 
breast,  lay  in  state  under  a  baldachin  of  gold  and  silver 
cloth  lined  with  ermine.  The  canopy  reached  to  the  top  of 
the  dome,  and  was  surmounted  by  alternate  rows  of  ostrich 
feathers  and  the  imperial  arms.  Among  the  mourners  were 


1881.] 


ASSASSINATION  OF  THE  EMPEROR. 


387 


the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales,  Archduke  Rudolf  of  Aus¬ 
tria,  Crown  Prince  of  Germany,  Prince  Alexander  of  Bulgaria, 
the  imperial  family,  and  a  host  of  famous  princes  and  gen¬ 
erals.  Pirst,  the  Pligh  Mass  was  celebrated,  with  beautiful 
soft  music  by  the  choir ;  then  came  masses  for  the  dead,  and 
the  Protodeacon  intoned  a  prayer  for  the  sins,  voluntary  and 
involuntary,  of  the  Emperor,  while  all  the  mourners  held 
lighted  candles  in  their  hands.  Afterwards  the  last  farewells 
were  said,  the  silk  standard  was  removed,  and  the  Emperor 
was  laid  beside  his  wronged  and  unhappy  Empress.  Then  the 
guns  of  the  fortress  sounded,  and  the  mourning  flag  was  taken 
down  and  replaced  by  the  imperial  standard. 

Alexander  the  Third  was  Tsar  of  all  the  Russias. 

The  new  Emperor  began  his  reign  under  gloomy  auspices. 
Five  of  the  conspirators  who  had  accomplished  the  death  of 
his  father  were  discovered  and  condemned  to  death  by  a  court 
of  trial  comprising  five  senators,  the  marshal  of  the  nobility, 
the  mayors  of  Saint  Petersburg  and  Moscow,  and  a  representa¬ 
tive  of  the  peasants.  One  of  them,  a  woman  of  rank,  Sofia 
Perovska,  the  daughter  of  a  councillor  of  the  Ministry  of  Do¬ 
mains,  and  granddaughter  of  a  Minister  of  the  Interior  under 
Nicholas  the  First,  asked  to  suffer  the  same  fate  as  the  others. 
It  was  she  who  gave  the  signal  to  Hartmann  for  exploding 
the  mine  under  the  imperial  train  on  the  nineteenth  of  No¬ 
vember  ;  she  also  waved  a  handkerchief  to  Ruisakof  when 
the  Emperor’s  carriage  drove  into  the  Canal  Street.  She  and 
the  others  were  hung  in  spite  of  the  threats  of  assassination 
which  the  Nihilist  society,  “  the  Will  of  the  People,”  ex¬ 
pressed. 

The  policy  of  Alexander  the  Third,  whose  reign  began 
with  the  first  public  execution  of  a  woman  for  half  a  century, 
was  immediately  marked  by  signs  of  retrogression  and  reac¬ 
tion,  and  hence  was  a  disappointment  to  the  true  friends  of 
Russia,  who  hoped  to  see  a  liberal  and  wise  administration 
follow  an  administration  of  weakness  and  vacillation. 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


[Chap.  XVI. 


388 

*  t) 

'  i 

Russia,  whose  first  glory  began  with  Rurik  and  Igor,  — 
Russia,  dispersed  after  Iaroslof  the  Great,  reunited  by  the 
Dynasty  of  Moscow,  Europeanized  by  Peter  the  Great  and 
Catherine  the  Second,  freed  from  serfage  by  Alexander  the 
Second  guided  by  the  enlightened  wisdom  of  his  mistress  the 
Princess  Dolgorukaiia,  —  ought  now  to  enter  into  a  new  phase 
of  its  history.  Hitherto  the  foreign  policy  of  this  great  coun¬ 
try  has  been  turned  to  three  aims,  —  the  ending  of  the  duel 
with  the  Polo-Lithuanian  State  for  the  leadership  of  the  Slav 
world,  the  struggle  with  its  Western  neighbors  to  gain  the 
freedom  of  the  Baltic  and  Black  Seas,  and  the  revenge  for  the 
Tatar  yoke,  whether  taken  on  the  Turanians  of  Central  Asia 
or  those  of  Constantinople.  Having  conquered  a  place  among 
the  European  States,  it  must  secure  also  a  place  among  free 
nations.  When  Russia  displays  boldness,  resolution,  and 
wisdom  in  following  out  a  system  of  liberal  schemes,  then 
will  begin  the  true  history,  not  of  the  Russian  State,  but  of 
the  Russian  People. 


INDEX 


♦ 


A. 

Abdul  Aziz,  Sultan,  becomes  unpopular, 
iii.  337  ;  forcibly  dethroned,  338  ;  dies 
by  unknown  violence,  338. 

Abdul  Hamid  succeeds  to  throne  of  Tur¬ 
key,  iii.  339. 

Abo,  treaty  of,  cedes  South  Finland  to 
Russia,  ii.  159. 

Academy,  Russian,  undertakes  dictionary, 

ii.  216  ;  incorporates  with  Academy  of 
Sciences,  216. 

Achmet  III.  seeks  to  retake  Azof,  ii.  107. 
Address  from  Poles  to  Alexander  II.,  iii. 
236. 

Adolph,  Friedrich,  made  Prince  of  Swe¬ 
den,  ii.  159. 

Adrian,  patriarch,  death  of,  ii.  92. 
Adrtanople  entered  by  Russians,  iii.  41  ; 

abandoned  by  Turks,  377. 

Agriculture  followed  by  early  tribes,  i. 
58. 

Aix  la  Chapelle,  Congress  of,  ii.  370. 
Akkerman,  treaty  of,  made  with  Turkey, 

iii.  38. 

Aksakof  complains  of  Berlin  Congress, 
iii.  380. 

Aladja-Dagh,  battle  of,  won  by  Rus¬ 
sians,  iii.  372. 

Alaska  sold  to  United  States,  iii.  307  ; 

transferred  formally,  308. 

Albert,  Bishop  of  Livonia,  builds  Riga,  i. 

144. 

Aleko  Pasha  wins  popularity  in  Rume- 
lia,  iii.  381. 

Alexander  Nevski,  Prince  of  Novgorod, 
i.  159  ;  wins  battle  of  Neva,  160  ;  sub¬ 
mits  to  Batui,  162  ;  dies  near  Vladimir, 
164. 

- of  Tver  flies  from  Pskof,  i.  192  ; 

pardoned  by  Uzbek,  192  ;  finally  exe¬ 
cuted,  193. 

■ - of  Lithuania  marries  Helena,  i. 

228. 

— - I.  comes  to  the  throne,  ii.  271  ; 

reconciles  George  III.  of  England,  272  ; 
seeks  peace  with  France,  272 ;  makes 


alliance  with  England,  277  ;  visits  tomb 
of  Frederick,  278  ;  decides  to  continue 
war,  285  ;  quarrels  with  Novosiltsof, 
296  ;  discontent  runs  high  against,  300  ; 
disturbed  by  action  of  Napoleon,  320  ; 
prohibits  French  goods,  321  ;  debate  over 
his  policy,  326  ;  retires  to  his  capital, 
329  ;  seeks  alliance  against  Napoleon, 
345  ;  firm  policy  of,  against  Napoleon, 
349  ;  proclamation  of,  at  Freiburg,  354  ; 
confers  with  Deputies  of  Paris,  359  ; 
takes  Poland  and  cedes  Saxony,  361  ; 
modifies  his  Polish  plan,  361  ;  relations 
of,  to  restored  France,  364  ;  policy  of,  as 
to  Poland,  366  ;  regards  Greek  cause 
with  indifference,  373  ;  early  promise  of 
his  reign,  374  ;  becomes  harsh  in  latter 
years,  384  ;  takes  Empress  to  Taganrog, 
397  ;  dies  at  Taganrog,  398  ;  character 
and  services  of,  399. 

- II. ,  early  life  and  education  of,  iii. 

174  ;  succeeds  to  the  throne,  175  ;  man¬ 
ifesto  of,  to  Russian  people,  176 ;  re¬ 
solves  of,  as  to  Crimean  War,  177 ; 
manifesto  after  Sevastopol,  201 ;  same, 
after  close  of  war,  207  ;  initiates  valua¬ 
ble  reforms,  209  ;  speech  of,  to  Deputies 
at  Moscow,  209  ;  coronation  of,  210  ; 
moves  to  abolish  serfage,  221  ;  offers 
amnesty  to  Poles,  241  ;  amity  of,  with 
William  I.,  314  ;  speech  of,  to  the  Cos¬ 
sacks,  320  ;  denounced  by  Revolution¬ 
ists,  383  ;  killed  by  explosive  bombs,, 
384  ;  affection  of  peasantry  for,  385 
splendid  funeral  of,  386. 

- III.  succeeds  to  throne,  iii.  387. 

Alexandra,  Princess,  executed,  i.  265. 

Alexis  makes  humane  war  on  Poland,  i. 

381  ;  treats  with  Poland  against  Sweden, 

382  ;  confines  English  to  Arkhangel, 
399. 

- Mikhailovitch,  character  of,  i.  370. 

- ,  Prince,  marries  Charlotte  of  Bruns¬ 
wick,  ii.  120  ;  gives  Peter  great  trouble, 
120  ;  hides  in  Germany  and  Italy,  121  ; 
brought  home  and  renounces  crown,  121; 
proved  a  traitor  and  put  to  death,  122. 


390 


INDEX. 


Alfred  of  England  served  by  Other,  i.  40. 
Alliance,  efforts  to  strengthen,  ii.  290. 

- ,  French,  prospects  of,  ii.  298. 

- “  of  Four  Powers  ”  quells  the  Khe¬ 
dive,  iii.  76. 

- “of  Three  Emperors”  formed,  iii. 

319. 

Allied  Army  lands  at  Eupatoria,  iii.  154. 
Allies,  movements  of,  in  Southern  Eu¬ 
rope,  ii.  256  ;  capture  Dutch  ffeet  in  the 
Texel,  261  ;  conditions  of,  offered  to 
Napoleon,  348  ;  three  great  armies  of,  in 
the  field,  349  ;  decide  to  march  on 
Paris,  358  ;  financial  preparations  of,  iii. 
143  ;  despatch  troops  to  Turkey,  145  ; 
move  on  the  Chersonesus,  162  ;  intrench 
before  Sevastopol,  168  ;  gain  by  naval 
attacks,  184  ;  ask  for  truce  at  Sevasto¬ 
pol,  188  ;  sickness  in  armies  of,  188  ; 
movements  of,  in  pursuit  of  Russians, 
198. 

Alma,  Heights  of,  fortified  by  Russians, 
iii.  154  ;  forced  by  Allies,  155. 

- - ,  Ravine  of,  desperate  fight  in,  iii. 

156. 

- - ,  battle  of,  its  effect  in  Russia,  iii. 

157. 

Almanac,  change  made  in,  in  1700,  ii.  78. 
Alphabet,  Slavonic,  first  invented,  i.  69  ; 
abandoned,  ii.  100. 

- - ,  Russian,  contrived  to  admit  print¬ 
ing,  ii.  100. 

Ambassadors,  how  received  and  enter¬ 
tained,  i.  291. 

Amiens,  Peace  of,  rupture  of,  ii.  275. 
Amorosi,  Bishop,  killed  by  mob,  ii.  198. 
Amur  River,  Russian  acquisitions  on,  iii. 
305. 

Amusements,  prohibited  in  Old  Russia,  i. 

297  ;  instituted  by  Peter,  ii.  84. 
Anastasia,  Tsaritsa,  dies,  perhaps  by 
poison,  i.  260. 

Andrassy,  Count,  declarations  of,  iii.  313  ; 

note  of,  for  pacification,  329. 

Andrei  reigns  in  Suzdal,  i.  159. 

Anna  Ivanovna,  Council  treats  with,  ii. 
135;  accepts  proposal  of  Council,  136; 
enters  Moscow  as  capital,  136 ;  sum¬ 
mons  High  Council,  137. 

- I.,  character  and  person  of,  ii.  138  ; 

oppressive  style  of  her  government, 
138  ;  court  costume  and  etiquette  of,  140  ; 
habits  and  methods  of  government,  141 ; 
becomes  unpopular,  152. 

- Leopoldovna  becomes  Regent,  ii. 

154  ;  weakness  and  incapacity  of,  154  ; 
condemned,  with  her  party,  156. 

- Paulo vna,  marriage  with  Napoleon 

stopped,  ii.  318. 

Antiquities,  Russian  writers  upon,  iii. 
270. 

Apraxin  invades  Eastern  Prussia,  ii.  164. 


Araktcheef  made  Minister  of  War,  ii. 
297  ;  made  Prime  Minister,  382  ;  op¬ 
posed  by  peasantry,  386. 

Aral,  Sea  of,  navigation  begun  upon,  iii. 
45. 

Arcis,  battle  of,  victory  doubtful,  ii.  358. 

Ardahan,  fortress,  taken  by  Russians, 
iii.  370. 

Arkiiangel,  effort  to  suppress  trade  at, 
ii.  95. 

“Armed  Neutrality,”  proclaimed  against 
England,  ii.  222  ;  Act  of,  revived  by 
Paul  I.,  263  ;  given  up  by  Alexander  I., 
272. 


Armies  collected  by  France  and  Russia, 
ii.  321. 

Army,  Russian,  general  constitution  of, 
i.  288  ;  equipments  and  divisions  of, 
289. 


- ,  Heavy,  of  Alexander  and  Russia, 

ii.  325. 

-  of  Russia,  reinforced  continually, 

ii.  335. 

Arnaud,  St.,  letter  to  French  Minister, 

iii.  151  ;  criticises  Russian  tactics,  156. 
Artisans,  foreign,  invited  to  Russia,  i. 

356. 


Artists,  Italian,  at  Court  of  Moscow,  i. 
232. 


Arts,  rise  of,  in  Russia,  i.  310  ;  useful, 
promoted  by  Peter,  ii.  97. 

Asia,  Central,  dubious  place  of  Russia  in, 
iii.  286  ;  Russian  boundaries  in,  287  j 
details  of  geography  of,  291  -  293. 
Asiatic  tribes,  how  regarded  by  Russia, 
iii.  283. 

Askold,  first  Christian  Prince  of  Russia, 

i.  69  ;  and  Dir,  besiege  Byzantium,  i. 

66. 

Assemblies,  International,  held  in  Rus¬ 
sia,  iii.  280. 

Assumption,  Church  of,  in  the  Kreinl,  i. 
307. 

Astrakhan  subdued  by  Ivan  IV.,  i.  255. 
Augustus  of  Poland,  submits  to  Charles 
XII.,  ii.  64  ;  reconciled  with  Peter,  106. 
Austria,  policy  of,  suspected  by  Russia, 

ii.  262  ;  soldiers  of,  charged  with  treach¬ 
ery,  283  ;  attempts  negotiations  with 
Russia,  iii.  116  ;  persists  in  seeking 
pacification,  124  ;  real  interest  of,  in 
Turkish  War,  131  ;  and  Prussia  support 
the  Alliance,  143  ;  supplanted  by  Rus¬ 
sia,  309  ;  and  Hungary  disturbed  by 
Russian  action,  313. 

Authors,  Western,  popular  in  Russia,  ii. 
393. 

Azof,  offered  to  Russia  by  Cossacks,  i. 
355  ;  destroyed  by  Cossacks,  355  ;  Pe¬ 
ter  decides  to  march  upon,  ii.  28  ;  sec¬ 
ond  expedition  against,  30  ;  capitulates 
to  Russians,  30. 


INDEX. 


391 


B. 

Bader,  Franz,  originates  Holy  Alliance, 

ii.  368. 

Bagration,  Gen.,  covers  retreat  of  Kutu- 
zof,  ii.  280  ;  overrules  Barclay  de  Tol¬ 
ley,  329. 

Balaklava,  intrenchments  of  Allies  at, 

iii.  163  ;  battle  of,  165. 

Balkans,  crossed  by  Russian  army,  iii. 

354  ;  final  evacuation  of,  381. 

Baltic,  Peter  seeks  to  secure  passage  of, 
ii.  51  ;  provinces  of,  saved  from  insur¬ 
rection,  iii.  246. 

Banks,  agricultural,  founded  in  Russia, 
ii.  167. 

Bar,  Confederation  of,  violent  spirit  of, 

ii.  189. 

Basmanof,  his  treason  to  the  sons  of  Bo¬ 
ris,  i.  325. 

Batui,  Tatar  Chief,  makes  second  inva¬ 
sion,  i.  153. 

Batum,  expedition  of  Russians  against, 

iii.  369. 

Belgrade,  Peace  of,  ends  Turco-Russian 
War,  ii.  148. 

Bell,  famous  “Tsar-kolokol,”  at  Moscow, 

i.  310. 

Belles-Lettres,  advance  of,  in  Russia, 

ii.  392. 

Benningsen,  prominent  in  conspiracy,  ii. 
269  ;  attacks  Paul  I.  in  chamber,  269  ; 
makes  advance  at  Osterode,  287  ;  opens 
campaign  of  1807,  291. 

Berezina,  French  force  passage  at,  ii. 
343. 

Berlin,  entered  and  pillaged  by  Russians, 
ii.  166  ;  Congress  of,  meets  to  discuss 
treaty,  iii.  378. 

Bernadotte  chosen  King  of  Sweden,  ii. 
308. 

Bestuzhef,  Alexander,  revolutionary  acts 
of,  iii.  16. 

Bestuzhef-Riumin,  opinion  on  Greek 
Church,  i.  90  ;  as  to  writings  of  Nov¬ 
gorod,  138  ;  succeeds  against  Lestocq, 

ii.  161  ;  made  Vice-Chancellor,  159 ; 
disgraced  and  removed,  164  ;  concerned 
in  insurrection,  iii.  19. 

Bezborodko  rewarded  for  services,  ii. 
224. 

Bibikof  defeats  Pugatchef,  ii.  200. 

Bible  Societies  established,  ii.  383. 
Bielinski,  eminent  critical  writer,  iii.  27. 
Billault,  French  Minister,  speaks  for 
Poland,  iii.  244. 

Biren,  nominated  Regent,  ii.  152  ;  de¬ 
posed  and  exiled,  ii.  153. 

Birger,  of  Sweden,  defeated  on  the  Ijora, 
i.  160. 

Bismarck  gains  advantage  from  Russia, 

iii.  311. 


Black  Sea,  Russians  not  to  cruise  in,  iii. 
135  ;  entered  by  Allied  Fleet,  136  ; 
navigation  of,  debated,  178  ;  made  neu¬ 
tral  ground,  205  ;  neutrality  of,  set 
aside,  319. 

“Black  Tomb”  opened  by  Samokvasof, 
i;  62. 

Bldcher,  steadily  opposes  Napoleon,  ii. 

356  ;  makes  trouble  in  Paris,  363. 
Bogdanovitch,  as  to  policy  of  Russia,  ii. 
352. 

Bogoliubski,  besieges  Kief,  i.  Ill  ;  founds 
Tsars  of  Moscow,  113  ;  movements  of, 
after  fall  of  Kief,  114  ;  attacks  Novgo¬ 
rod,  114  ;  efforts  of,  for  new  capital, 
116  ;  slain  by  boyars,  118. 

Bolotnikof,  marches  on  Moscow,  i.  332  ; 

retires  to  Tula,  333. 

Bomarsund  taken  by  Allies,  iii.  151. 
Bonaparte,  wins  at  Marengo,  ii.  262  ;  re¬ 
turns  all  Russian  prisoners,  262  ;  makes 
overtures  to  Paul  I.,  263  ;  questions  the 
India  scheme,  267  ;  angry  at  murder  of 
Paul  I.,  270  ;  displeased  by  Russian 
policy,  272;  threatens  England,  277. 
“Book  of  Instructions”  of  Catherine  II., 

ii.  205. 

Boris  and  Gleb,  Russian  demigods,  i.  160. 
Boris  Godunof,  aspires  to  throne,  i.  312  ; 
removes  all  other  regents,  312  ;  be¬ 
comes  virtual  Tsar,  313  ;  retires  to  mon¬ 
astery,  318 ;  obtains  the  throne,  319  ; 
encourages  learning,  321  ;  wife  and 
child  of,  put  to  death,  326. 

Borodino,  battle-field  of,  described,  ii. 

332  ;  details  of  battle  of,  333 ;  fruitless 
carnage  at,  334. 

Bosquet,  Gen.,  displaced  from  command, 

iii.  186. 

Bourdon,  Mad.,  describes  Shah  Indeh, 

iii.  292. 

Bribes  and  corruption  denounced  by  Cath¬ 
erine,  ii.  207. 

Brides,  capture  of,  at  marriage,  i.  56. 
Bridges,  splendid,  in  Russia,  iii.  276. 
Brigade,  Light,  at  Balaklava,  iii.  165. 
“Brigand  of  Tushino”  approaches  Mos¬ 
cow,  i.  334. 

Brune,  Gen.,  reduces  Zyp,  ii.  261. 
Buffoonery,  Anna  I.  encourages,  ii.  142. 
Buildings,  Russian,  mostly  wood,  i.  23. 
Bukarest,  Congress  of,  ii.  312. 

Bulgaria,  ravaged  by  Bashi-Bazouks,  iii. 

333  ;  welcomes  the  Russians,  354. 
Burnet,  Bishop,  his  opinion  of  Peter,  ii. 

39. 

Burroughs,  Stephen,  voyage  to  North 
Sea,  i.  274. 

“Busy  Bee,”  first  Russian  Review,  ii. 
170. 

Buturlin,  sent  to  Cossacks,  i.  380. 
Byzantium  preserved  by  miracle,  i.  66. 


392 


INDEX. 


C. 

“Cadets,  Corps  of,”  founded  by  Miin- 
nich,  ii.  144. 

Canals,  important,  projected  by  Peter, 

ii.  96. 

Canrobert,  Marshal,  relieved  in  Crimea, 

iii.  183. 

Capefique,  his  story  of  Peter’s  assassina¬ 
tion,  ii.  180. 

Cardigan,  Earl  of,  famous  charge  of,  iii. 
166. 

Carlsbad,  Congress  of,  excitement  about, 

ii.  370. 

Catherine,  “Maid  of  Marienburg,” 
story  of,  ii.  59  -  123  ;  acknowledged  by 
Peter,  108  ;  described  by  Margravine  of 
Baireuth,  124 ;  crowned  as  Empress 
Catherine  I.,  124  ;  becomes  absolute 
sovereign,  128  ;  continues  plans  of  Pe¬ 
ter,  129  ;  nominates  Peter  II.  to  suc¬ 
ceed,  129. 

- II.,  usurps  the  throne,  ii.  179  ; 

procures  death  of  Peter  III.,  180  ;  no¬ 
tice  of  her  dramatic  works,  216 ;  her 
designs  on  Turkey,  226  ;  terrified  by 
French  Revolution,  245  ;  her  compli¬ 
cated  diplomacy,  246. 

Caucasus,  doubtful  war  with  tribes  of,  iii. 
42  ;  Russian  occupation  of,  283  ;  rapid 
improvements  in,  286. 

Census  and  tribute  laid  on  Novgorod,  i. 
162. 

Chancellor,  discovers  White  Sea,  i.  273  ; 
second  voyage  to  White  Sea,  273  ;  ship¬ 
wrecked  on  return  to  England,  274. 
Charles  X.,  of  Sweden,  invades  Poland, 

i.  382. 

- X.,  of  France,  Nicholas  disturbed 

by  flight  of,  iii.  46. 

- XII.  of  Sweden,  comes  to  Little 

Russia,  ii.  48  ;  makes  resumption  of 
land,  52  ;  congratulated  by  European 
Powers,  56  ;  operations  of,  in  Poland, 
60  ;  enters  Russia  to  subdue  Augustus, 
62  ;  character  of,  by  Guerrier  and  oth¬ 
ers,  67  ;  makes  rapid  march  into  Russia, 

69  ;  approaches  Moscow  from  Berezina, 

70  ;  winter  sufferings  of  his  army,  71  ; 
routed  and  broken  up  at  Poltava,  73. 

Chatillon-sur-Seine,  congress  opened 
at,  ii.  356. 

“Chief  Citizens,”  class  founded  by  Nich¬ 
olas,  iii.  23. 

China,  treaty  with,  by  Iaguzhinski,  ii. 
133  ;  relations  with,  under  Nicholas  I., 

iii.  42  ;  position  of  Russia  towards,  304  ; 
Russia  finally  settles  with,  306. 

Cholera,  peasants  revolt  on  account  of, 
iii.  45  ;  ravages  Polish  and  Russian 
armies,  67  ;  breaks  out  in  French  army, 
149. 


Christians,  slain  by  Vladimir,  i.  78  | 
institutions  of,  respected  by  Tatars,  172  j 
in  Turkey,  Russia  claims  to  protect,  iii. 
110  ;  revolt  against  Turkey,  325  ;  last 
appeal  of,  to  Consuls,  326  ;  encourage4 
by  financial  pressure,  328  ;  insurgent, 
difficulty  of  appeasing,  330. 

Church,  peculiar  form  of,  in  Novgorod, 
i.  137  ;  slow  increase  of  power  of,  173  : 
revenues  and  management  of,  287  ;  o| 
Vasili  the  Blessed,  curious  style  of,  309  ; 
reorganized  by  Peter,  ii.  92. 

Civil  state,  idea  of,  from  Greece,  i.  94. 

- liberty,  narrowness  of,  under  Vasili, 

i.  246  ;  advanced  under  Ivan  IV.,  278. 
Civilization,  extinct,  signs  of,  in  Tur¬ 
kestan,  iii.  288. 

Clarendon,  Earl,  becomes  English  Min¬ 
ister,  iii.  96  ;  his  note  as  to  state  of 
Turkey,  97. 

Clement  VIII.,  Pope,  bishops  submit  to, 

i.  364. 

Climate,  severe  in  winter,  i.  30. 
Coalition,  disposition  of,  against  France, 

ii.  255  ;  overcome  by  Napoleon,  284  ; 
renewed  by  Northern  Powers,  284. 

Coast  line,  great  share  of,  in  Western 
Europe,  i.  17  ;  small  amount  of,  in  Rus¬ 
sia,  18. 

Coins,  ancient,  discovery  of,  i.  58. 
“Colleges”  of  Government,  created  by 
Peter,  ii.  85  ;  of  Mines,  etc.,  suppressed, 

209. 

Colonies,  military,  founded  by  Arakt- 
cheef,  ii.  385. 

Colonization  of  immigrants  favored,  ii. 

210. 


“  Commission  for  the  Code,”  influence  of, 
ii.  206. 

Communists  publish  principles  at  Kra- 
kov,  iii.  78. 

Confederates,  Polish,  capture  the  King, 

ii.  191. 

Conference,  Berlin,  attempts  help  for 
Turkey,  iii.  335. 

Confraternities  formed  against  Jesuits, 
i.  361. 

Conscription,  Polish,  serious  effect  of, 

iii.  240. 


Constantine,  Emperor,  as  to  Russian 
names,  i.  60. 

Constantinople,  taken  by  Mahomet  II., 

i.  215  ;  blockaded  by  England,  ii.  312  ; 
results  of  conference  at,  iii.  344. 

Constitution,  liberal,  attempt  for,  checked, 

ii.  137  ;  refused  to  the  nobles,  iii.  229. 
Consuls,  French  and  German,  killed  by 

Turks,  iii.  332. 

Cossacks,  intractable  character  of,  i.  367; 
defeated  at  Berestitchko,  379  ;  again  de¬ 
feated  at  Ivnneto,  380  ;  definitely  an¬ 
nexed  to  Russia,  381 ;  difficulty  of 


INDEX. 


393 


union  with,  386  ;  revolt  at  Hadiatch, 
387  ;  of  Don,  revolt  against  Russia, 
ii.  45  ;  last  end  of  tlieir  power,  202  ; 
to  march  against  India,  264  ;  full  in¬ 
structions  to,  265  ;  march  of,  stopped 
by  death  of  Paul  I.,  266. 

Costumes,  curious,  of  native  women,  i. 
41 ;  ridiculous,  at  Court  of  Anna  I.,  ii. 
143. 

Council  of  Regents  appointed  for  Feo¬ 
dor,  i.  311. 

Courts,  form  of  improved,  iii.  230. 
Crimea,  Khan  of,  marches  on  Moscow,  i. 
252;  and  Livonia,  war  against  both, 
258 ;  second  expedition  against,  fails, 

ii.  21  ;  Turks  finally  driven  from,  193  ; 
disturbances  in,  223  ;  geography  of,  iii. 
152  ;  war  of,  great  loss  of  life  in,  206. 

Criminals,  State,  pardoned  by  Alexander 
II.,  iii.  212. 

Cyprus,  given  to  England  by  Berlin  Con¬ 
gress,  iii.  380. 

D. 

Dall,  Wm.  H.,  statements  as  to  Alaska, 

iii.  308. 

Daniel,  succeeds  to  throne  of  Galitch, 

i.  124 ;  efforts  of,  for  freedom  of  Ga¬ 
litch,  126  ;  first  Prince  of  Moscow,  187. 
Dantzig,  taken  by  the  Russians,  ii.  146. 
Danube,  crossed  by  Russians,  iii.  1 46— 
350  ;  operations  of  Russians  upon,  352. 
Days,  great  variation  in  length  of,  i.  22. 
Death,  penalty  of,  abolished  bv  Eliza¬ 
beth,  ii.  168. 

Debts,  rigorous  laws  for  collection  of,  i. 
286. 

Deities,  worshipped  by  certain  tribes,  i. 
42  ;  greater  and  lesser,  of  early  authors, 
i.  52. 

De  la  Gardie,  invades  Russia  with  Swedes, 

i.  271  ;  drives  Brigand  from  Tushino, 
335  ;  takes  Baltic  ports,  341. 

Demidof,  family  founded  by  means  of  Pe¬ 
ter,  ii.  96. 

“  Demon,  The,”  great  poem  bv  Lermontof, 
iii.  30. 

D’Enghien,  Due,  seized  and  executed,  ii. 
276. 

Denmark,  fleet  of,  seized  by  English,  ii. 
267  ;  forced  to  give  up  Schleswig-Hol¬ 
stein,  iii.  311. 

Derby,  Lord,  criticises  Russian  action,  iii. 
349. 

Derzhavin,  greatest  lyric  poet  in  Russia, 

ii.  219. 

Devlet-Ghirei,  Khan,  invades  Moscow, 
i.  268. 

Dibitch,  Count,  enters  Poland  with  Rus¬ 
sians,  iii.  65. 

Diet  of  Grodno,  sad  spectacle  of,  ii.  237. 


Dimsdale,  Dr.,  inoculates  Catherine  II., 
ii.  212. 

Diplomacy,  methods  and  manner  of,  i. 
290. 

Dmitri  Ivanovitch  claims  Moscow,  i. 
197. 

- Donskoi,  military  movements  of, 

i.  198 ;  defeats  Tatars  on  the  Voja, 
200  ;  threatened  by  Mamai,  201. 

- ,  brother  of  Feodor,  killed  by 

Uglitch,  i.  317. 

- the  False,  his  appearance,  i.  332. 

- ,  the  second,  assassinated, 

i.  339. 

- ,  the  fourth,  executed,  i. 

374. 

- Pojavski  commands  popular  army, 

i.  342. 

Dnieper  River,  influence  of,  i.  26. 
Dobrudsha  Wilderness,  Russians  at¬ 
tacked  in,  iii.  148. 

Dokturof,  sent  to  Charles  I.  of  England, 
i.  397  ;  brought  before  Parliament,  398. 
Dolgoruki,  becomes  powerful,  ii.  131  ; 
incites  revolt,  but  is  detected,  150 ; 
sent  to  Napoleon,  280. 

Domestic  establishments  include  slavery, 
i.  295. 

Doroshenko  defeated  in  Little  Russia,  i. 
397. 

Dorostol,  battle  of,  i.  73. 

Dramatists  and  satirists,  various  Rus¬ 
sian,  iii.  261. 

Dresden,  battle  of,  won  by  French,  i. 
350. 

Dress,  harsh  notions  of,  in  Old  Russia,  i. 
297. 

Drevoninski,  as  to  religious  state  of 
Russia,  i.  366. 

Drinking,  suppressed  by  Anna  I.,  ii.  142. 
Dru-jinniki,  or  Guards,  their  influence, 
i.  87. 

Drunkenness,  universal  in  Old  Russia, 

i.  298. 

Dubienka,  battle  of,  under  Kosciuzko, 

ii.  236. 

Duckworth,  Admiral,  blockades  Constan¬ 
tinople,  ii.  312. 

Duel,  judicial,  employed  in  Russia,  i.  286. 
Duroc,  his  plan  for  restoring  Poland,  ii. 
319. 

E. 

Eckhardt,  Julius,  on  female  education, 

iii.  254. 

Ediger,  the  Tatar,  invades  Russia,  i.  208  ; 

raises  siege  of  Moscow,  i.  208. 
Education,  made  compulsory  by  Peter, 
ii.  97  ;  promoted  by  Catherine  II.,  213  ; 
restricted  and  regulated  by  Nicholas,  iii. 
25  ;  public,  state  of,  in  Russia,  253 ; 
female,  efforts  toward,  254. 


394 


INDEX. 


“Elect  of  Whole  Muscovite  Empire,” 
title,  i.  342. 

Elizabeth  of  England,  Ivan  IV.  corre¬ 
sponds  with,  i.  266  ;  makes  treaty  with 
Ivan  IV.,  276  ;  embassy  to,  from  Boris, 
320  ;  receives  Russian  envoys,  320. 

- Petrovna,  intrigues  against  Anna 

II.,  ii.  155;  seizes  the  government, 
156  ;  sudden  death  of,  166  ;  fanatical 
zeal  of,  166  ;  results  of  her  reign,  172. 

Emancipation  of  serfs,  early  discussed, 
ii.  206  ;  begun  in  Northern  Russia, 
376  ;  slightly  favored  by  Nicholas,  iii. 
23 ;  preparation  for,  218 ;  begun  in 
Lithuania,  222  ;  gradual  progress  of, 
224 ;  final  conditions  of,  225  ;  influential 
promoters  of,  228. 

Emigrants,  Greek,  to  Moscow,  i.  231. 

Emigration,  as  affecting  local  names,  i. 
47  ;  consequences  of,  49. 

Ems,  Conference  held  at,  iii.  312. 

England,  and  Holland  offer  to  mediate, 

i.  347  ;  seeks  to  open  Oriental  trade, 
352  ;  accepts  alliance  against  Napoleon, 

ii.  278  ;  curious  changes  in  Cabinet  of, 

iii.  86  ;  refuses  to  anticipate  fall  of  Tur¬ 
key,  91  ;  further  conference  as  to  Tur¬ 
key,  95  ;  learns  action  of  Russia,  105  ; 
acts  with  France  on  Eastern  Question, 
106  ;  ministers  of,  reach  Turkey,  108  ; 
awakens  to  designs  of  Russia,  113  ;  and 
France  will  occupy  Black  Sea,  135  ;  de¬ 
clares  war  upon  China,  304  ;  disturbed 
by  Gortchakof,  319  ;  great  feeling  in, 
for  Bulgaria,  334  ;  objects  to  Berlin 
Conference,  336  ;  strong  action  of, 
against  Turkey,  343 ;  fleet  of,  passes 
Dardanelles,  378. 

English  form  exploring  company  under 
Cabot,  i.  272. 

- - army,  occupy  Balaklava,  iii.  163  ; 

repulsed  from  Redan,  187  ;  repulsed 
again,  196. 

Entail,  law  of,  abolished  by  Anna  I.,  ii. 
144. 

Erasmus  Handelius  mediates  for  Po¬ 
land,  i.  347. 

Erfurt,  Conference  of,  by  Napoleon  and 
Alexander,  ii.  303. 

Erzerum,  Russians  move  toward,  iii.  374  ; 
finally  taken  by  Russians,  375. 

Eugenius  IV.,  Pope,  seeks  union  with 
Greek  Church,  i.  214. 

Eupatoria,  occupied  by  Turks,  iii.  168  ; 
Russians  repulsed  before,  169. 

Europe,  eastern  and  western  divisions,  i. 
17  ;  sovereigns  of,  roused  against  Ta¬ 
tars,  157  ;  military  relations  of,  with 
Charles  XII.,  ii.  63  ;  attitude  of,  on 
Eastern  Question,  iii.  115. 

Evdokia,  wife  of  Peter,  sent  to  convent, 
ii.  44  ;  full  story  of,  119. 


“Explosive  Bullet  Treaty,”  universally 
signed,  iii.  324. 

Eylau,  battle  of,  account  of,  ii.  287; 

Russians  retire  from  field  of,  288. 

Eyre,  Gen.,  bravery  of,  at  Sevastopol,  iii. 
187. 

F. 

Falconet,  sculptor  of  statue  of  Peter  I., 
ii.  215. 

Famine,  great  in  all  Russia,  i.  321. 

Feast,  commemorative,  at  Vladimir,  i. 
117. 

Feodor,  Ivanovitcli,  succeeds  to  throne, 

i.  311  ;  dies,  ending  his  dynasty,  317. 
- Alexiovitch,  succeeds  to  crown,  i. 

399  ;  state  of  royal  family  at  his  death, 

ii.  13. 

Fermor  makes  second  invasion  of  Prus¬ 
sia,  ii.  164. 

Fily,  Russians  hold  council  at,  ii.  334. 
Finance,  condition  of  public,  iii.  233. 
Fish,  heavy,  found  in  Volga,  i.  27. 
Forbes,  Archibald,  censures  Russian  ac¬ 
tion,  iii.  358. 

Forced  marriage,  abolished  by  Peter,  ii. 
83. 

Forest,  Zone  of,  defined,  i.  28. 

F orster,  George,  as  to  fall  of  Poland,  ii. 
238. 

Four  Powers,  indignant  at  Turkey,  iii. 

121. 

France,  negotiates  for  Oriental  trade,  i. 
352  ;  amity  of,  with  Peter,  ii.  117 ;  as¬ 
sists  Russia  in  Sweden,  &c.,  149;  joins 
Russia  against  Germany,  158 ;  civiliza¬ 
tion  of,  carried  to  Russia,  171  ;  lan¬ 
guage  of,  popular  under  Elizabeth,  172; 
institutions  of,  favored  by  Catherine, 
214  ;  relations  to  Italian  States,  253  ; 
expels  Turks  from  Greece,  iii.  40  ;  sym¬ 
pathizes  with  Poland,  72 ;  shut  out  of 
Convention  of  London,  75  ;  returns  to 
placeman  Convention,  77  ;  answers  cir¬ 
cular  of  Nesselrode,  117. 

Francis  Joseph,  his  cruelty  toward  Hun¬ 
gary,  iii.  84. 

“  Frankfort,  Basis  of,”  Napoleon  insists 
on,  ii.  357. 

Frederick  II.,  his  letter  to  Western 
Powers,  i.  157. 

-  of  Prussia,  Elizabeth  jealous  of, 

ii.  162  ;  stirs  up  Polish  affairs,  ii.  194. 
French  actors  dismissed  by  Peter  III., 
ii.  176  ;  troops,  plan  of  sending,  to  Li¬ 
dia,  266  ;  army,  painful  march  of,  to 
Kustendje,  iii.  149  ;  army,  sufferings  of, 
at  Varna,  150  ;  batteries  silenced  by 
Russians,  164  ;  capture  Mamelon  and 
White  Works,  185  ;  repulsed  from  Mab 
akof,  187  ;  hurt  by  explosion  in  Bran- 
cion  Redoubt*  192. 


INDEX. 


395 


G. 

Galitch  governed  by  boyars,  i.  122. 
Galitsuin,  fails  in  movement  against 
Turks,  ii.  21  ;  driven  into  exile,  25. 
Gallicia,  principality  of,  located,  i.  100. 
Gallipolis  fortilied  by  Allies,  iii.  146. 
Gambling  encouraged  by  Anna  I.,  ii.  141. 
Gazette,  Moscow,  its  great  influence,  iii. 
249  -  272. 

Gedimin,  establishes  power  of  Lithuania, 

i.  176  ;  appeals  to  Pope  for  protection, 
177. 

Geneva,  Convention  of,  Russia  adheres  to, 
iii.  324. 

Geography,  and  history,  promotion  of, 

ii.  100  ;  Russian,  investigations  in,  iii. 
277. 

Geology,  successful  explorations  in,  iii. 
278 

“George  the  Black  ”  killed  by  Milosh, 

ii.  313. 

Germans,  invasion  and  domination  by,  i. 
145. 

Gerstenzweig,  Gen.,  suicide  of,  iii.  238. 
Gilbert  of  Lannoy,  his  account  of  Nov¬ 
gorod,  i.  128. 

Glinka,  political  editor,  ii.  391. 
Gogol-Ivanovski,  eminent  writer,  iii.  31. 
“  Golos,”  daily  journal,  character  of,  iii. 
272  ;  remarks  of,  on  Prussian  affairs, 
317. 

Gontcharof,  novelist,  style  of  his  work, 

iii.  258. 

Gorgey,  Gen.,  betrays  Hungarians  at  Yi- 
lagos,  iii.  82. 

Gortchakof,  ordered  to  leave  Turkey,  iii. 
125  ;  declines  to  evacuate  Turkey,  127. 

- ,  Prince,  takes  command  of  army, 

169  ;  holds  important  councils  of  war, 
189  ;  his  loose  policy  as  to  defence, 
194 ;  conciliates  Poles,  236 ;  circular 
of,  to  European  Powers,  282  ;  made 
Chancellor  of  Russia,  309  ;  circular  of, 
to  the  Six  Powers,  318  ;  his  summary 
of  Eastern  Situation,  345. 
Government,  Russian,  extortions  of,  i. 
285. 

Governments,  provincial  and  municipal, 
iii.  232. 

“Grand  Army”  of  Napoleon,  formed,  ii. 

324  ;  broken  up  by  desertion,  352. 
Greece,  invaded  by  Iaroslaf,  i.  83  ;  inde¬ 
pendence  of,  recognized,  iii.  41. 

Greek  Church,  benefits  and  difficulties 
of,  i.  91  ;  Emperor,  ideal  character  of, 
93  ;  war  of  1827,  outline  of,  iii.  39. 
“Greek  Project”  for  dismembering  Tur¬ 
key,  ii.  225. 

Greeks,  early  settlement  of,  i.  32  ;  and 
Serbians,  effect  of  revolt  of,  ii.  372 ; 
massacred  by  Turks,  ii.  373. 


Greene,  Lieut.,  as  to  defence  of  Plevna, 
iii.  367  ;  as  to  passage  of  Shipka,  377. 
Gregory  XIII.,  Pope,  mediates  for  Po¬ 
land,  i.  271. 

Griboiedof,  eminent  dramatist,  iii.  31. 
Grigorief,  Prof.,  on  Russian  policy,  iii. 
287. 

Grokiiof,  battle  of,  Poles  repulsed  at,  iii. 
65. 

Guerillas,  French  attacked  by,  ii.  340. 
Gurko,  Gen.,  gains  much  at  Plevna,  iii. 
366  ;  moves  toward  Balkans,  367  ;  se¬ 
vere  service  of,  375  ;  offensive  orders 
of,  383. 

Gustavus  Adolphus,  treaty  of,  with  Rus¬ 
sia,  i.  349  ;  seeks  alliance  with  Russia, 
351. 

-  III.  makes  great  revolution,  ii. 

197  ;  invades  Russia,  227  ;  makes  Peace 
of  Yerela,  228. 

-  IY.  treats  Alexander  rudely,  ii. 

307  ;  makes  treaty  with  England,  307  ; 
nearly  driven  from  Finland,  307  ;  ar¬ 
rested  and  expelled,  308  ;  succeeded  by 
Charles  XII.,  308. 


H. 

Haiduki  rise  against  Janissaries,  ii.  311. 
Hanse  League  has  monopoly  in  Russia, 
i.  137. 

Hazret  Iasavi,  his  mosque  described,  iii. 
290. 

Helena  Glinski,  widow  of  Yasili,  no¬ 
ticed,  i.  247. 

Henry  IY.  intercedes  with  Sviatoslaf,  i. 
103. 

- of  Anjou  made  King  of  Poland,  i. 

270. 

- III.  of  France  sends  merchants  to 

Russia,  i.  276. 

Heretics  and  fanatics  oppose  Nikon,  i. 
391. 

Herman  de  Balk,  Landmeister  of  Livo¬ 
nia,  i.  146. 

Herodotus,  his  account  of  Finnish  tribes, 

i.  44. 

Herrmann,  writer,  his  judgment  of  Four 
Sovereigns,  ii.  68. 

Herzen,  Alexander,  remarks  on  insurrec¬ 
tion,  iii.  19. 

- ,  publisher  in  London,  iii.  217 ; 

champion  of  Nihilists,  iii.  263. 

High  Council,  members  condemned  by 
Anna  I.,  ii.  138. 

Historians,  Russian,  works  of,  noticed, 
iii.  268. 

Holland  and  Hanse  Towns,  united  to 
France,  ii.  319. 

Holy  Alliance,  formed  by  Alexander  I., 

ii.  369  ;  hated  in  Europe,  396. 


S96 


INDEX. 


“  Holy  Sites,”  question  of,  stirred  by 
Louis  Napoleon,  iii.  86. 

Holy  Synod  founded  by  Peter,  ii.  92. 
Horde,  Great,  broken  down  by  Khan  of 
Crimea,  i.  280. 

Hussein  Avni  and  others,  killed  by  Has- 
san,  iii.  338. 

- ,  Pasha,  routed  and  driven  from 

Kars,  iii.  374. 


I. 

Iagello,  successor  of  Olgerd,  i.  178  ;  mar¬ 
ries  Hedviga  of  Hungary,  179  ;  removes 
capital  to  Cracow,  179. 

Iaguzhinski  laments  over  tomb  of  Peter, 

ii.  128. 

Iakob  Kiian,  notice  of  life  of,  iii.  294  ;  ob¬ 
stinate  resistance  of,  302. 

Ian  Kasimir  succeeds  Vladislas,  i.  377. 

“  Iarluik,”  or  Patent  issued  by  Khan,  i. 
168. 

Iaroslaf,  troubles  of,  with  the  princes,  i. 
82 ;  distresses  Novgorod,  120 ;  and 
Vladimir,  reign  in  Galitch,  122  ;  of 
Suzdal  confirmed  by  Tatars,  159. 

I  assy,  or  Jassy,  Peace  of,  ends  Turkish 
War,  ii.  231. 

Ibn-Dost,  Arab  writer,  as  to  Russian  jus¬ 
tice,  i.  87. 

Ibn-Foszlan,  Arab  writer,  as  to  funerals, 

i.  53. 

Ibrahim  of  Egypt  revolts  against  Turks, 

iii.  74. 

Ibraila,  first  shot  fired  at,  iii.  350. 

Ice,  battle  of  the,  won  by  Alexander  Nev- 
ski,  i.  161. 

Iezieiiski  questioned  by  insurgents,  iii. 
64. 

Igor,  third  Variag  prince,  i.  67  ;  subdues 
the  Emperor  Lecapenus,  68  ;  death  of,  ac¬ 
cording  to  Leo  the  Deacon,  68 ;  slain  by 
the  Drevliane,  88. 

Imperial  Council  replaces  the  Senate,  ii. 
378. 

India,  English  rule  in,  scheme  to  destroy, 

ii.  264. 

Industries,  internal,  encouraged  by  Pe¬ 
ter,  ii.  96. 

Inkermann,  Russians  attack  Allies  at,  iii. 

166  ;  battle  of,  lost  by  Russians,  167. 
Innocent  III.,  Pope,  answered  by  Roman, 
i.  124  ;  denounces  Livonians,  144. 

- IV.,  crowns  Daniel  king,  i.  125; 

letter  of,  to  Alexander  Nevski,  161  ; 
orders  Mindvog  baptized,  175. 
Inoculation,  Catherine  II.  promotes,  ii. 
212. 

Insurrection  breaks  out  in  Herzegovina, 

iii.  325. 

Invasions,  barbaric,  in  early  times,  i.  36. 


Ionian  Islands  taken  by  Russians  and 
Turks,  ii.  252. 

Irmuk,  Timofeivitch,  invades  Siberia,  i. 

277. 

Iron-clad  vessels  added  to  Russian  navy, 
iii.  323. 

Isiaslaf,  deposed  by  Sviatoslaf,  i.  103  ; 
defeated  by  Iuri,  109  ;  puts  Viatebeslaf 
on  throne,  109  ;  defeats  Iuri  on  the  Rut, 
i.  110. 

Ismail  assaulted  and  taken  by  Suvarof,  ii. 
231. 

Istomin,  Admiral,  killed  at  Sevastopol, 
iii.  180. 

Italy,  political  relations  of,  with  Russia, 
iii.  310. 

Iuri  Dolgoruki,  disputes  throne  of  Kief, 
i.  108  ;  finally  obtains  throne,  110  ;  de¬ 
feated  by  Mstislaf  the  Bold,  120. 

- ,  called  Second,  founds  Nijni  Nov¬ 
gorod,  i.  121. 

- II.  of  Suzdal,  defeated  at  Kolomna, 

i.  154  ;  slain  at  battle  of  the  Sit,  i.  155. 

- of  Moscow,  quarrels  with  Mikhail 

of  Tver,  i.  188  ;  marries  sister  of  Uzbek, 
189  ;  invades  country  of  Tver,  189  ; 
slain  by  Dmitri,  191. 

Ivan  Kalita,  marches  against  Tver,  i. 
191  ;  denounces  Alexander,  193. 

- II.,  weak  government  of,  i.  193. 

- III.,  or  “Great,”  prophecy  at 

birth  of,  i.  217 ;  character  of,  by  Ste¬ 
phen  of  Moldavia,  217  ;  marches  on 
Novgorod,  219  ;  holds  court  in  Novgo¬ 
rod,  220 ;  arrests  Hanse  merchants, 
221 ;  extends  Russian  power  to  Asia,  221  ; 
absorbs  Tver  and  other  provinces,  222  ; 
called  Binder  of  Russian  Land,  223  ;  re¬ 
bels  against  Akhmet  the  Tatar,  225 
manages  Tatar  envoys,  227  ;  lays  plans 
against  Lithuania,  228  ;  operates  against 
Livonian  Germans,  230  ;  marries  Sophia 
Paleologus,  231  ;  compared  with  Louis 
XI.  of  France,  233  ;  difficulty  of  fixing 
successor,  234. 

• - IV.,  or  “  Terrible,”  asserts  author¬ 

ity  at  thirteen,  i.  249  ;  crowmed  with  title 
of  “Tsar,”  250  ;  marries  Anastasia  Ro- 
manof,  250  ;  besieges  Kazan  with  diffi¬ 
culty,  252  ;  invades  Knights  of  Livonia, 
257  ;  sickness  of,  and  mutiny  against, 
259  ;  replies  to  Kurbski,  and  leaves 
Moscow,  262  ;  reconstructs  government, 
264  ;  begins  to  punish  mutineers,  264  ; 
prays  for  souls  of  his  victims,  266  ;  calls 
council  as  to  Poland,  267  ;  plans  of, 
against  Poland,  269  ;  speech  of,  to  Polish 
envoys,  270  ;  founds  Strelitz,  or  National 
Guard,  278  ;  tolerates  Reformed  Faith, 
279;  causes  death  of  his  son  Ivan,  279. 

- Sossanin  saves  life  of  Mikhail,  i. 

344. 


INDEX. 


397 


Ivan  VI.  imprisoned  by  Catherine  II., 
ii.  181. 

Ivanovski,  discoveries  of,  in  Russian 
tombs,  i.  54. 


J. 

Japan,  history  of  commercial  efforts  in, 
iii.  306. 

Jena  and  Auerstadt,  battles  of,  ii.  284. 

Jenkinson,  English  Ambassador  to  Rus¬ 
sia,  i.  274  ;  enterprise  of,  in  quest  of 
trade,  275. 

Jesters  employed  among  early  Russians, 
i.  298. 

Jesuits,  meddling  habits  of,  i.  359  ;  ex¬ 
pelled  by  Stephan  Batory,  360 ;  en¬ 
couraged  by  Sigismond  III.,  360  ;  seek 
to  subdue  Russia  to  Rome,  360  ;  finally 
expelled  from  Russia,  ii.  94  ;  terrible 
barbarities  charged  to,  188. 

Jews  and  foreigners  invited  to  Galitch,  i. 
125. 

Job,  Archbishop,  made  Patriarch,  i.  317  ; 
proclaims  falsity  of  Otrepief,  324. 

John  Zimisces  expels  Russians  from 
Greece,  i.  74. 

Jonas  of  Moscow  censures  priests,  i.  142. 

Joseph  II.  of  Austria,  movements  of,  ii. 
229. 

Joubert,  Gen.,  defeated  at  Novi,  ii.  257. 

Judicial  proceedings,  improvement  in, 
iii.  229. 

Juries  established  in  Russia,  iii.  230. 

“Justice,  Song  of,”  sung  by  minstrels,  i. 
369. 

Justices  of  Peace,  system  of,  iii.  231. 


K. 

Kadlubek,  Bishop,  as  to  acts  of  Roman, 
i.  123. 

“  Kalevy-poeg,”  national  poem  of  Estho- 
nia,  i.  147. 

Kalka,  battle  of,  Russians  defeated  at, 
i.  152. 

Kalmuiks  return  to  Chinese  territory,  ii. 
199. 

Kantemir  of  Moldavia  joins  Peter,  ii. 
108. 

Karakozof  attempts  life  of  Alexander 
II.,  iii.  250. 

Karamsin,  writer,  as  to  condition  of 
women,  i.  56 ;  censure  of,  as  to  sack  of 
Kief,  111 ;  remark  of,  on  Tatar  invasion, 
156  ;  as  to  Tatar  influence,  169 ;  re¬ 
marks  on  Ivan  III.,  217  ,  opposes  Spe- 
ranski,  ii.  382  ;  eminent  as  literary 
editor,  ii.  391. 

Kars,  city  of,  taken  by  Gen.  Muravief, 


iii.  202 ;  again  besieged,  370  ;  new 
movement  against,  371  ;  fortifications 
of,  described,  372  ;  stormed  by  Rus¬ 
sians,  373. 

Kartsof,  Gen.,  crosses  Balkans  by  Tro¬ 
jan  Pass,  iii.  376. 

Katkof,  Mikhail,  powerful  appeal  of,  iii. 
242  ;  stirs  Russia  against  Poland,  243  ; 
demands  against  Swedes  and  Germans, 
246  ;  stirs  up  Russian  feeling,  249. 
Kattner,  Herr,  dedicates  book  to  Ger¬ 
man  army,  iii.  317. 

Kazan,  Tatar  capital,  taken  by  Ivan  III., 
i.  226  ;  determined  against  by  Ivan  IV., 
252  ;  walls  of,  undermined,  254. 
Kazi-Molla  preaches  in  the  Caucasus,  iii. 
284. 

Khazarui,  native  tribe  like  Jews,  i.  43. 
Khemnitzer,  first  Russian  fabulist,  ii. 
218. 

Khiva,  unsuccessful  march  against,  iii. 
44  ;  expedition  to,  history  of,  300  ;  sub¬ 
dued  by  Kaufmann,  301. 

Khlopitski,  action  of,  in  Polish  revolt, 
iii.  57  ;  made  Dictator  of  Poland,  58  ; 
resigns  dictatorship,  62. 

Khmelnitski,  Bogdan,  head  of  Cossacks, 
i.  375  ;  takes  field  against  Poles,  376  ; 
victor  at  Khersun,  and  “Yellow  Wa¬ 
ters,”  376  ;  sends  memorial  to  Vladis- 
laus,  377  ;  treats  with  Polish  envoys, 
378  ;  troubles  after  his  death,. 383. 
Khodjent,  great  city  of  Turkestan,  iii. 
289. 

Khovanski  checks  revolt  in  Pskof,  i. 
374. 

- ,  chief  of  Streltsui,  put  to  death,  ii. 

19. 

Khrulef,  Gen.,  fails  at  Eupatoria,  iii. 
169. 

Kief,  city  of,  early  importance  of,  i.  26  ; 
greatness  of,  under  Iaroslaf,  85  ;  princi¬ 
pality  of,  located,  98;  taken  by  princes- 
of  Smolensk,  115  ;  taken  and  pillaged 
by  Tatars,  156  ;  becomes  subject  toGed- 
imin,  176. 

- Prince  of,  made  Head  of  Empire, 

102. 

Kirghiz  and  Kalmuiks,  region  of,  i.  29  ; 
Tatars  troublesome  to  Russia,  iii.  295  ; 
and  Kokandians  yield  to  Russia,  296. 
Klapka,  Gen.,  continues  against  Austria, 
iii.  83. 

Kokandians,  fresh  troubles  with,  iii. 
297. 

“Kolokol,”  paper  issued  by  Herzen,  iii. 

217  :  of  Herzen,  great  power  of,  271. 
Koltsof,  eminent  poet,  iii.  31. 
Konigsberg  surrenders  to  Lestocq,  ii. 
292. 

Kontsskt,  Bishop,  petitions  for  heln.  ii. 

187. 


398 


INDEX. 


Konstantin  defeats  Russians  at  Orsha, 

i.  239. 

- Paulovitcli  renounces  crown,  iii. 

13. 

- ,  Duke,  threatened,  iii.  50  ;  flees 

from  Warsaw,  53  ;  retires  from  Poland, 
54. 

- ,  Prince,  made  high  admiral,  iii. 

178. 

- ,  Duke,  made  viceroy  of  Poland, 

iii.  238. 

Kornilof,  Admiral,  his  plan  against 
Allies,  iii.  161  ;  killed  at  Malakof, 

164. 

Korostin,  city,  burned  by  Olga,  i.  68. 
Kosciuzko,  becomes  Hero  of  Poland,  ii. 
239  ;  makes  insurrection  at  Krakof, 
239  ;  efforts  to  consolidate  parties,  241 ; 
defeated  at  Matsiovitsai,  243  ;  set  at 
liberty  by  Paul  I.,  250. 

Kotchubey,  and  Iskra  executed,  ii.  48  ; 
advises  Alexander  I.,  271  ;  and  Stroga- 
nof  dismissed,  296. 

Kotoshikin,  Gregory,  writes  against  boy¬ 
ars,  i.  394. 

Kotzebue  tries  “Northwest  Passage,”  ii. 
394. 

Krakof,  retaken  by  Prussians,  ii.  241  ; 
insurrection  at,  against  Austria,  iii.  78  ; 
insurrection  at,  quelled  by  Nicholas, 
79. 

Kreml,  or  Kremlin,  its  grandeur  and  im¬ 
portance,  i.  306. 

Krijanitch,  Iuri,  elevator  of  Russian  let¬ 
ters,  i.  394. 

Kropotof,  editor,  noticed,  ii.  391. 
Krudener,  Mad.,  her  mystical  counsels, 

ii.  368  ;  her  influence  upon  Alexander 
I.,  383. 

Krukovietski  made  Dictator,  iii.  68. 
Krusenstern  makes  first  Russian  voyage 
round  the  world,  ii.  394. 

Kuchelbecker  remarks  on  Russian  peo¬ 
ple,  ii.  388. 

Ivulen,  Vandamme  defeated  at,  ii.  350. 
Kulikovo,  battle  of,  won  by  Dmitri,  i. 
202. 

Kulisii,  as  to  Poles  and  Russians,  i.  37. 
Kunf.rsdorff,  Prussians  routed  at,  ii. 

165. 

Kurbatof,  eloquent  letter  of,  to  Peter,  ii. 
74. 

Kurbski,  Andrei,  abandons  Ivan  IV.,  i. 
261  ;  writes  letter  to  same,  262  ;  ele¬ 
gant  and  powerful  writings  of,  302. 
Kutuzof,  fights  his  way  out  of  Austria, 
ii.  279  ;  takes  command  of  Russians, 
331  ;  reinforces  himself  on  retreat,  331  ; 
retreats  from  Borodino,  333  ;  retires  be¬ 
yond  Moscow,  335  ;  beats  Murat  at 
Vinkovo,  340  ;  his  pleasant  ways  with 
the  army,  342. 


L. 

Lakes,  Northern,  deep  valley  of,  i.  21. 
Lambert,  Count,  succeeds  Gortchakof, 

iii.  237  ;  recalled  from  Poland,  238. 
Land,  Black,  extent  and  nature  of,  i.  28  ; 

productive,  in  Russia,  38. 

Lapuhkin,  Mad.,  arrested  and  condemned, 
ii.  160. 

Law,  maritime,  new  principles  sustained, 
ii.  222. 

Laws,  Byzantine  and  Slavic,  conflict  of, 

i.  103  ;  of  Russia,  as  affected  by  Mon¬ 
gols,  170  ;  improvement  in  structure  of, 
233  ;  of  civil  justice,  administration  of, 
285  ;  provision  for  administering,  ii.  208. 

Lazzaroni,  terrible  riot  of,  in  Naples,  ii. 

254  ;  second  riot  of,  in  Naples,  257. 
Learning,  favor  for,  under  Mikhail,  i. 
356. 

Leibnitz  advises  with  Peter  as  to  reforms, 

ii.  85. 

Leipsig,  battle  of,  Napoleon  beaten  at,  ii. 
351. 

Lelevel,  revolutionist,  character  of,  iii. 
61. 

Leo  VI.  submits  to  Oleg,  i.  67. 

- X.,  Pope,  mediates  for  Moscow 

and  Poland,  i.  240. 

- the  Deacon,  as  to  early  Russians,  i. 

62. 

Lermontof,  Mikhail,  eminent  poet,  iii. 
29. 

Lestocq,  Court  Physician,  his  intrigues, 
ii.  159  ;  disgraced  and  exiled,  161. 
“Letter  of  Justice,”  or  Laws  of  Novgo¬ 
rod,  i.  135. 

Leweniiaupt,  Swedish  general,  defeated, 
ii.  71. 

Liapunof  abandons  insurgents,  i.  333. 
Liberalism,  advance  of,  in  Russia,  ii. 
388. 

Liberators,  monument  erected  for,  i. 
343. 

Liberty,  civil,  remarkable  principles  of, 
ii.  205  ;  ideas  of,  demanded  by  insur¬ 
gents,  iii.  20. 

Literature,  encouraged  by  Iaroslaf,  i. 
86  ;  rapid  growth  of,  under  Christianity, 
95  ;  peculiar,  of  Novgorod,  138  ;  rise  of, 
in  Russia,  300  ;  and  science,  great  ad¬ 
vance  of,  ii.  169  ;  great  men  of,  under 
Catherine  II.,  218  ;  leaders  of,  further 
noticed,  220  ;  active  advancement  of, 
391  ;  difficulties  of,  under  Nicholas,  iii. 
33  ;  real  advance  of,  in  Russia,  35 ; 
turned  in  favor  of  reform,  216 ;  devel¬ 
opment  of,  in  Russia,  257 ;  for  and 
against  Nihilism,  264  ;  Russian,  as  af¬ 
fected  by  European  ideas,  265. 
Lithuania,  decline  and  absorption  of,  i. 
184 ;  condition  of,  under  Ivan  III., 


INDEX. 


399 


227  ;  new  quarrels  of  Ivan  with,  229  ; 
forces  of,  defeated  at  Vedrosha,  229  ; 
Alexander  of,  makes  truce  with  Ivan, 
230  ;  people  of,  robbed  by  Russian  law, 
iii.  246. 

Lithuanian  tribes,  notice  of,  i.  174. 
Lithuanians,  wholesale  baptism  of,  i. 
179. 

Livonia  and  Crimea,  war  against  both, 

i.  258  ;  and  Poland,  forces  defeated  by 
Russia,  267. 

Livonian  Knights,  defeated  at  Dorpat,  i. 
163  ;  intercept  German  workmen,  257  ; 
make  alliance  with  Poland,  257  ;  order 
of,  broken  up,  267. 

Livonians  revolt  and  abjure  Christianity, 

i.  144. 

Lomonosof,  works  and  character  of,  ii. 
170. 

London,  Conference  of,  makes  Luxem¬ 
bourg  neutral,  iii.  312. 

Lord  Stratford  overlooks  Protocol,  iii. 
132. 

Loris-Melikof,  Gen.,  retires  from  Kars, 
iii.  370  ;  improves  popular  feeling, 
383. 

Louis  XVIII.,  expelled  from  Mitava,  ii. 
264  ;  enters  Louvre,  and  meets  Alexan¬ 
der,  360. 

-  Napoleon,  his  rise  and  prospects, 

iii.  85  ;  visits  Victoria,  179. 

“Love  and  Fidelity,”  order  of,  founded, 

ii.  123. 

Lovtcha,  village,  captured  by  Russians, 

iii.  363. 

Lublin,  Diet  of,  results  in  Act  of  Union, 
i.  358. 

Luders,  Count,  enters  Transylvania,  iii. 

82  ;  made  Viceroy  of  Poland,  238. 
Luitprand,  remark  on  Russian  names,  i. 
60. 

Lutzen  and  Bautzen,  battles  won  by 
French,  ii.  347. 

Luxembourg,  France  asks  evacuation  of, 
iii.  312. 

M. 

Mack,  Gen.,  operations  of,  at  Naples,  ii. 

253  ;  army  of,  broken  up  at  Ulm,  279. 
Magnus,  Danish  prince,  made  King  of 
Livonia,  i.  268. 

Maintenon,  Mad.,  visited  by  Peter,  ii. 
116. 

Makarof,  editor,  notice  of,  ii.  391. 
Makhmet-Ghirei  slain  by  Mawai,  i.  241. 
Malakof,  tower  of,  built  by  Russians,  iii. 
160  ;  great  strength  of  works  at,  192  ; 
taken  by  French  by  assault,  195. 
Mamelon,  captured  by  French  troops,  iii. 
185  ;  re-named  after  Col.  de  Brandon, 
185. 


Mangu  Kiian,  audacious  demand  of,  oj» 
France,  i.  165. 

Mannstein  describes  Anna’s  court,  ii. 

142. 

Marfa,  seeks  to  save  Novgorod,  i.  218  * 
defeated  at  Korostuin  and  the  Shelona, 
219. 

Mark,  Bishop  of  Ephesus,  defeats  union 
with  Rome,  i.  214. 

Markof,  Russian  minister,  unpleasant 
ways  of,  ii.  276. 

Marlborough  visits  camp  of  Charles 
XII.,  ii.  63. 

Marriage,  ridiculous,  of  Galitsuin,  ii. 

143. 

- ,  forced,  abolished  by  Peter,  ii.  83. 

Marriages  between  Russians  and  Tatars, 
i.  168  ;  royal,  how  managed  in  Russia, 
283. 

Massena,  operations  of,  against  Allies,  ii. 
258. 

Mathematicians,  eminent  Russian,  iii. 
280. 

Matvief,  introduces  European  refinements, 
i.  396  ;  accused  and  deposed,  399. 
Maurice,  Emperor,  as  to  ancient  tribes, 

i.  59. 

- of  Saxony  seeks  to  get  Kurland, 

ii.  132. 

Maximilian  of  Austria  mediates  for  Mos¬ 
cow  and  Poland,  i.  239. 

Maximus  the  Greek,  at  Court  of  Moscow, 
i.  242  ;  banished  to  monastery,  243. 
Mayran,  Gen.,  killed  before  the  Malakof, 

iii.  187. 

Mazeppa,  real  story  of  his  adoption  by 
Cossacks,  ii.  45  ;  gains  confidence  of 
Peter,  46  ;  tampers  with  Polish  agents, 
46  ;  joins  the  Swedes,  49  ;  denounced 
by  Peter  and  driven  into  Turkey,  49. 
Medicine,  jealousy  toward  such  as  prac¬ 
tised,  i.  299  ;  and  surgery,  encouraged 
by  Peter,  ii.  100  ;  readiness  of  women 
to  study,  iii.  255. 

Mehemet  Ali  fails  to  drive  out  Russians, 
iii.  363. 

Mein  hard  made  Bishop  of  Livonia,  i. 

144. 

Melikof,  Prince,  wisdom  of,  as  to  public 
press,  iii.  273. 

Mengli-Giiirei  of  Crimea,  ally  of  Ivan 
III.,  i.  224. 

Menshikof,  acquires  superior  power,  ii. 
128  ;  his  ambition  and  greed  of  author¬ 
ity,  130  ;  opposed  by  Peter  II.  and  Elis¬ 
abeth,  130  ;  arrested  and  disgraced,  131. 

- ,  Prince,  sent  to  Constantinople, 

iii.  101  ;  his  pompous  entry  into  Tur¬ 
key,  102  ;  insults  Fuad  Effendi,  103  ; 
makes  further  trouble  in  Turkish  Cabi¬ 
net,  112  ;  commands  at  Sevastopol,  153; 
resigns  command,  169. 


400 


INDEX. 


Merchants,  oppressed  by  nobles,  i.  294. 
Merrick,  John,  ambassador  from  Janies 
I.,  i.  348. 

Metternich  gets  influence  over  Alexan¬ 
der,  ii.  371. 

- ,  Prince,  as  to  Eastern  Question, 

iii.  131. 

Mezentsof,  Gen.,  assassinated,  iii.  382. 
Michael,  Saint,  Cathedral  of,  etc.,  i.  308. 
Michelson,  captures  Pugatchef,  ii.  201  ; 

invades  Moldavia,  311. 

Midhat  Pasha  gets  control  in  Turkey, 
iii.  339. 

Mikhail,  charged  with  poisoning  Kont- 
chaka,  i.  189  ;  set  in  pillory  by  Uzbek, 
189  ;  slain  by  agents  of  Iuri,  190. 

- ,  of  Tver,  subdued  by  Dmitri,  i. 

199. 

- Vorotinski  defeats  Tatars,  i.  269. 

- Romanof,  chosen  Tsar  at  fifteen,  i. 

344  ;  opens  new  Polish  War,  354. 

- ,  Grand  Duke,  heads  Russian  ar¬ 
my,  iii.  369  ;  describes  storming  of 
Kars,  373. 

Milan,  Prince  of  Serbia,  strong  move¬ 
ments  of,  iii.  340. 

Military  art,  Western,  brought  into 
Russia,  i.  353. 

Miloradovitch  killed  by  insurgents, 
iii.  17. 

Milosh  successfully  rebels  in  Serbia,  ii. 
313. 

Mindvog,  becomes  Prince  of  Lithuania,  i. 
175  ;  invades  Russia,  175  ;  defeats  Li¬ 
vonian  Knights,  175  ;  slain  by  Dov- 
mont,  176. 

Mines,  Peter  arouses  interest  in,  ii.  96. 
Minin  and  Pojarski,  honors  accorded  to, 

i.  343. 

Mining,  Russian,  results  of,  iii.  252. 
Ministry  founded  to  replace  “Colleges,” 

ii.  377. 

Mirovitch,  seeks  to  deliver  Ivan  YI.,  ii. 

181  ;  executed  for  treason,  182. 

Mohila,  Peter,  promotes  religious  learn¬ 
ing,  i.  365. 

Monarchy,  Russian,  nature  and  pecul¬ 
iarity  of,  i.  282. 

M  xnasteries  and  monks  restrained,  ii.  93. 
Mongols,  invade  and  ruin  Galitch,  i.  125 ; 
power  of,  weakened,  223  ;  power  of,  be¬ 
gins  to  decline,  254. 

Monks  of  St.  Cyril  rebuked  by  Ivan,  i. 
287. 

Montenegro  forbidden  to  join  Turks,  iii. 

326. 

Morals,  public,  sad  condition  of,  ii.  168. 
Mordinof,  letter  of,  to  Alexander  I.,  ii. 
300. 

Morozof,  minister  of  Alexis,  movements 
of,  i.  371  ;  driven  into  convent  of  St. 
Cyril,  372. 


Moscow,  princes  of,  subjected  to  Khans, 
i.  171  ;  becomes  centre  of  Eastern  Rus¬ 
sia,  185  ;  princes  of,  methods  of  their 
ambition,  186;  first  built  by  Iuri  Dol- 
goruki,  187  ;  greatness  of,  increases  un¬ 
der  Ivan,  194  ;  advanced  and  improved 
under  Dmitii,  205 ;  gains  over  Suzdal 
and  Mjni,  206  ;  besieged  by  Shemiaka, 
212  ;  with  Poland,  many  alliances  of, 
239  ;  ravaged  by  feuds  among  boyars, 
248  ;  suffers  great  conflagration,  251  ; 
architectural  glory  of,  305 ;  great  lia¬ 
bility  of,  to  fire,  306  ;  joins  the  usurpa¬ 
tion  of  Otrepief,  326  ;  almost  all  burned 
by  Poles,  340  ;  great  revolt  in,  against 
Miloslavski,  372  ;  riot  at,  on  account  of 
Polish  War,  384  ;  Academy  of,  founded 
by  Feodor,  399  ;  riot  and  tumult  in,  ii. 
16  ;  great  triumph  in,  30  ;  complaints 
at,  against  Peter,  40  ;  scourged  by  the 
plague,  197 ;  treasures  of,  removed, 
338 ;  brandy  and  spirits  burned  in, 
338  ;  conflagration  of,  339  ;  French  dis¬ 
tressed  in,  339. 

Mound-dwellings  of  ancient  people,  i. 

57. 

Mountains  of  Russia  and  other  countries, 

i.  19. 

Mozaffar,  revolts  against  Russia,  iii. 
299  ;  defeated  at  Zera-Bulak,  299. 

Mstislaf  the  Brave,  bold  message  of,  i. 
116. 

- the  Bold  leaves  Novgorod,  i.  131. 

Mukhtar  Pasha  defeated  by  insurgents, 

iii.  331. 

Municipalities,  privileges  of,  regulated, 

ii.  209. 

Munnich,  seeks  to  develop  cavalry,  ii. 
147  ;  and  Lascy  penetrate  Crimea,  148. 

Murad  V.,  becomes  Sultan,  iii.  338  ;  de¬ 
posed  and  retired,  339. 

Murat  the  Tatar  supports  Dmitri,  i.  198. 

- ,  Marshal,  enters  Konigsberg,  ii. 

292. 

Muravief,  Gen.,  made  Governor  of  Po¬ 
land,  iii.  243  ;  great  cruelty  of,  in 
Poland,  244. 

Muridism,  or  fanatical  faith  of  the  Cau¬ 
casus,  iii.  284. 

Mythology  of  ancient  Russian  poets,  i. 
51 ;  Russian  writers  upon,  iii.  270. 


N. 

Naples  and  Hanover  important  to  Alex¬ 
ander  I.,  ii.  275. 

Napoleon,  wins  at  Eylau,  but  gains  noth¬ 
ing,  ii.  289 ;  seeks  to  negotiate  with  the 
Powers,  289  ;  stirs  Turkey  and  Prussia 
against  Russia,  290  ;  attacks  Benning- 
sen  at  Friedland,  291 ;  pride  of,  displayed 


INDEX. 


401 


at  Erfiirt,  304  ;  decides  to  repudiate 
Josephine,  305  ;  joins  Fifth  Coalition 
against  Austria,  308  ;  differs  with  Alex¬ 
ander  I.,  314  ;  plan  of,  for  reconstruct¬ 
ing  Poland,  315  ;  gives  Poland  his  Civil 
Code,  316  ;  joins  his  army  at  Dresden, 
323  ;  surprises  Vilna,  326  ;  parleys  with 
Alexander  I.,  328  ;  enticed  by  Russian 
retreat,  330  ;  orders  forward  his  re¬ 
serves,  331  ;  enters  Moscow  with  army, 
338  ;  evacuates  Moscow,  and  retreats, 
341  ;  leaves  army  with  Murat,  343 ; 
masses  his  new  army  on  the  Elbe,  346  ; 
quarrels  with  Metternich,  348  ;  pressed 
by  the  Allies,  351;  offers  the  “Condi¬ 
tions  of  Frankfort,”  353  ;  makes  vig¬ 
orous  defence  of  French  posts,  355  ; 
dethroned  by  the  senate,  360  ;  returns 
to  Paris,  362. 

Napoleon  III.,  slow  action  of,  in  Eastern 
Question,  iii.  123  ;  imperial  letter  of,  to 
the  Tsar,  140. 

Narva,  battle  of,  between  Peter  I.  and 
Charles  XII.,  ii.  54  ;  retaken  by  Peter  I., 
59. 

Nashtchokin,  Aphanasi,  great  services 
of,  i.  395  ;  builds  first  Russian  vessel, 
395  ;  founds  the  press  in  Russia,  395. 

Nastasia  Zima  tortured  for  Lutheran¬ 
ism,  ii.  94. 

Natalia  Naruishkin  marries  Alexis,  i. 
396. 

Navarino,  Turkish  fleet  destroyed  at,  iii. 
39. 

Navigation,  steam,  development  of,  iii. 
251. 

Navy,  rapid  growth  of,  under  Peter  I.,  ii. 
94. 

- ,  Russian,  becomes  active  on  Black 

Sea,  iii.  133  ;  great  improvement  of,  323. 

- ,  Turkish,  inactivity  of,  iii.  351. 

Nawtingall,  envoy  to  Alexis  from 
Charles  I.,  i.  398. 

Nazimof,  Rescript  of,  begins  emancipa¬ 
tion,  iii.  222. 

Nesselrode,  Count,  his  services,  iii.  19  ; 
his  diplomacy  with  England,  98  ;  his 
last  demand  on  Turkey,  114  ;  succeeded 
by  Gortchakof,  309. 

Nestor,  the  Chronicler,  as  to  Russian 
slaves,  i.  36  ;  as  to  funeral  pyres,  54  ;  as 
to  barbarous  customs,  55. 

Neva,  Dnieper,  and  Volga,  influence  of,  i. 
28  ;  posts  upon,  taken  by  Peter,  ii.  58  ; 
great  inundation  from,  395. 

New  Code,  Commission  formed  to  draw, 
ii.  204. 

Newspapers,  first  one  in  Russia,  ii.  100  ; 
increase  of,  391. 

Ney  saves  his  division,  ii.  342. 

Nicephorus  brings  Sviatoslaf  against  Pe¬ 
ter,  i.  72. 

VOL.  III. 


Nicholas  I.,  succession  given  to,  iii.  14  ; 
disperses  insurgents,  16-18 ;  becomes 
despotic  and  illiberal,  21  ;  makes  de¬ 
mands  on  Turkey,  38  invades  Turkey 
on  the  north,  40  ;  attends  Diet  of  War¬ 
saw,  48  ;  proclamation  against  Polish 
revolt,  61  ;  unfortunate  jealousy  of, 
for  France,  73  ;  seeks  to  annoy  France, 
77  ;  undertakes  against  revolution,  80  ; 
complains  of  Turkey,  87 ;  seeks  favor 
with  England,  87  ;  sentiments  of,  to 
English  minister,  89  ;  seeks  to  partition 
Turkey  with  England,  90  ;  his  policy 
penetrated  by  England,  92 ;  seeks  alli¬ 
ance  with  Austria  and  Prussia,  137  ; 
rejects  proposition  of  Napoleon  III., 
141  ;  death  of,  and  notes  of  character, 
170  ;  despair  of,  after  Eupatoria,  172. 

Nihilism,  beginning  of,  in  Russia,  iii. 
263  ;  its  literary  friends  and  enemies, 
264. 

Nihilists,  proclamation  issued  by,  iii. 
384  ;  arrested  and  executed,  387. 

Nikolai,  Fort,  taken  by  Turks,  iii.  128  ; 
destruction  described  by  Langlois,  200. 

- ,  Grand  Duke,  seeks  to  cross  Bal¬ 
kans,  iii.  375. 

Nikolaief,  arsenal  of,  saved  by  treaty,  iii. 
203. 

Nikon,  or  Nitika,  religious  seclusion  of,  i. 

389  ;  becomes  Patriarch  of  Moscow, 

390  ;  overcomes  monks  of  White  Sea, 

391  ;  resigns  as  Patriarch,  392  ;  impris¬ 
oned  by  Council  of  Moscow,  392. 

Nikopolis,  captured  by  Gen.  Kriidener, 
iii.  356. 

Nobility,  titles  of,  abrogated  by  Feodor, 

ii.  81. 

Nobles,  freed  by  Peter,  ii.  111-175  ;  ask 
privileges  on  account  of  emancipation, 

iii.  228. 

Nolan,  Capt.,  carries  order  at  Balaklava, 
iii.  165. 

Novelists,  various,  eminent  in  Russia, 
iii.  259. 

Novgorod,  early  name  of  St.  Petersburg, 
i.  25  ;  first  building  of,  65  ;  principal¬ 
ity  of,  located,  98  ;  Bogoliubski  defeated 
at,  115 ;  city,  ancient,  importance  of, 
127  ;  republican  government  of,  129  ; 
throne  of,  offered  to  Sviatoslaf,  131;  va¬ 
rious  troubles  in,  132  ;  political  struc¬ 
ture  of,  133 ;  methods  of  justice  in, 
134 ;  works  and  industries  of,  136  ; 
punished  by  Dmitri,  204 ;  fully  annexed 
to  Moscow,  206 ;  reduced  by  Vasili, 
213  ;  moved  against  by  Ivan  III.,  218  ; 
ceded  to  Kasimir  IV.  of  Poland,  219 ; 
taken  by  Ivan,  and  republic  ended, 
220 ;  punished  by  Ivan,  and  fifteen  hun¬ 
dred  slain,  266  ;  disturbance  at,  headed 
by  Wolk,  373. 


26 


402 


INDEX. 


0. 

Oath,  Yasili  Shuiski  made  to  take,  i.  331. 

Odessa,  bombarded  by  Allies,  iii.  147  ; 
escapes  bombardment,  198. 

Odyssey  translated  by  Zhukovski,  iii.  33. 

Oleg,  second  Yariag  prince,  i.  66  ;  invades 
Tsargrad,  66  ;  killed  by  a  serpent,  67. 

Oleg  Sviatoslavitch  makes  civil  war,  i. 
104. 

Olga,  Princess,  story  of,  i.  56  ;  avenges 
death  of  Igor,  68  ;  converted  to  Christi¬ 
anity,  69. 

- ,  Saint,  said  to  be  native  of  Pskof,  i. 

140. 

Olgerd,  succeeds  Gedimin,  i.  177 ;  re¬ 
duces  Novgorod,  177  ;  quarrels  with  Po¬ 
land,  178  ;  expels  Mongols  from  Crimea, 
178. 

Omer  Pasha,  name  for  Michael  Lattas, 
iii.  128  ;  plans  campaign  on  Danube, 
128  ;  beats  Russians  at  Oltenitsa,  129  ; 
fortifies  Kalafat,  129. 

Orlof,  and  Elphinstone,  naval  expedition 
of,  ii.  193 ;  family  of  great  influence, 
203. 

- ,  Count,  obtains  treaty  with  Tur¬ 
key,  iii.  75  ;  despatched  to  Vienna,  137  ; 
fails  in  effort  at  Vienna,  138. 

Osip  Nepia,  Russian  envoy  to  England, 
i.  274. 

Osman  Pasha  loses  naval  battle  at  Si¬ 
nope,  iii.  134  ;  repulses  Russians  at 
Plevna,  357  ;  surrenders  at  Plevna,  367. 

Other,  Norwegian  navigator,  visits  Eng¬ 
land,  i.  41. 

Otrepief,  Gregory,  character  of,  by  Us- 
trialof,  i.  320  imposture  of,  322  ;  affili¬ 
ates  with  Sigismund,  323 ;  defeated  by 
Vasili  Shuiski,  325. 

- ,  the  False  Tsar,  indiscretion  of,  i. 

327  ;  slain  in  the  Kreml,  329. 

Oxus  River,  alterations  in  its  channel,  iii. 

288. 


P. 

Paganism,  modern  existence  of,  i.  42. 
Pahlen,  Count,  chief  conspirator  against 
Paul  I.,  ii.  268  ;  disgraced  and  dismissed 
from  service,  271. 

Painters,  eminent,  belonging  to  Russia, 
iii.  275  ;  historical  and  genre ,  276. 
Painting  not  affected  in  Russia  by  Re¬ 
naissance,  i.  304. 

Palace,  Imperial,  remaining  buildings  of, 
i.  308. 

Palmerston,  Lord,  protests  against  fall 
of  Krakov,  iii.  79. 

Pamphlets,  bold  tone  of,  issued  in  Russia, 

iii.  171. 


Paper,  Russian,  decline  in  value  of,  ii. 
321. 

Paris,  Peter  visits  and  inspects,  ii.  114  ; 
Allies  reach,  and  reduce  city  of,  358  ; 
last  treaty  made  at,  365  ;  embassies 
present  at  treaty  of,  iii.  203  ;  matters 
settled  by  treaty  of,  204  ;  peace  with 
Russia  gained  by  treaty  of,  205. 

Paskievitcii,  Gen.,  besieges  Warsaw,  iii. 
67  ;  marches  into  Hungary,  82. 

Passosiikof  writes  on  “Poverty  and 
Riches,”  ii.  99. 

Patkul,  his  movements  against  King  of 
Sweden,  ii.  52  ;  position  of,  in  Poland, 
64  ;  arrested  by  Secret  Council,  65  ;  de¬ 
livered  to  Charles  XII.,  and  executed, 
65. 

Patriarch  system  recognized  in  Rus¬ 
sia,  i.  55. 

Patriarchate  established  at  Moscow,  i. 
316. 

Patriots,  various,  views  of,  as  to  Poland, 
iii.  242. 

Paul  I.,  his  curious  and  frivolous  charac¬ 
ter,  ii.  249  ;  secures  alliance  with  various 
powers,  252  ;  exasperated  with  Austria 
and  England,  262  ;  his  orders  to  the 
Don  Cossacks,  264  ;  conspiracy  formed 
against,  268 ;  dies,  strangled  by  con¬ 
spirators,  270. 

Pavel  (or  Paul  I.)  succeeds  Catherine 
II.,  ii.  248. 

Peace  of  Tilsit,  enthusiasm  over,  ii.  295. 

Peasantry,  and  lower  classes,  condition 
of,  i.  292  ;  made  to  be  attached  to  the 
soil,  315  ;  attachment  of,  to  soil,  effects 
of,  316  ;  uneasy  condition  of,  under  Bo¬ 
ris,  323  ;  question  of  freeing  in  Poland, 
iii.  235. 

Peasants,  free,  forced  to  become  serfs,  ii. 
207. 

Pelissier,  Gen.,  takes  command  of  French, 
iii.  183  ;  his  recall  attempted,  188. 

Perovska,  Sophia,  executed  with  conspir¬ 
ators,  iii.  387. 

Persia,  provinces  of,  given  up  by  Anna, 
ii.  145  ;  invades  Russian  Georgia,  247  ; 
Russia  still  at  war  with,  314;  recom¬ 
mences  war  with  Russia,  iii.  36  ;  and  ad¬ 
jacent  regions,  troubles  in,  43. 

Pestel,  Col.,  promotes  regicide  movement, 
ii.  390  ;  his  plans  noticed,  iii.  14  ;  and 
others,  executed  for  rebellion,  20. 

Petciienegi,  barbarous  tribes  conquered 
by,  i.  44  ;  repressed  by  Vladimir,  81  ■; 
defeated  by  Iaroslaf,  83. 

Peter  the  False  taken  and  hanged,  i. 
333. 

- I.  (the  Great),  made  Tsar  at  nine 

years  old,  ii.  14 ;  and  Ivan,  both  de¬ 
clared  Tsars,  18  ;  taught  by  Zotof,  22  ; 
youthful  habits  of,  23  ;  gets  the  better 


> 


INDEX. 


403 


of  Sophia  and  her  friends,  25  ;  noted 
for  irregular  life,  26  ;  goes  to  Arkhan- 
gel,  27  ;  nearly  perishes  at  sea,  27  ; 
Fails  to  take  Azof  at  first,  28  ;  takes 
Azof  by  intrenchment,  30  ;  meets  great 
popular  prejudices,  31  ;  takes  supper 
with  conspirators,  32 ;  journeys  to  the 
West,  33;  singular  behavior  of,  34; 
splendidly  received  in  Holland,  36 ; 
writes  to  Adrian  as  to  his  plans,  36 ; 
leaves  Holland,  and  goes  to  England, 
37  ;  engages  many  workmen,  38  ;  returns 
by  way  of  Germany,  38  ;  employs  Pat- 
kul  against  Sweden,  53  ;  new  prepara¬ 
tions  of,  after  Narva,  57  ;  lays  founda¬ 
tion  of  St.  Petersburg,  58  ;  captures 
Swedish  vessels,  59  ;  speech  of,  to  army 
before  Poltava,  73  ;  treats  Swedish  pris¬ 
oners  kindly,  74  ;  proposes  a  peculiar 
despotism,  77  ;  fidelity  of,  to  Russian 
interests,  78  ;  founds  the  State  Inqui¬ 
sition,  90  ;  seeks  to  divert  trade  to  the 
Baltic,  95  ;  stimulates  literary  service, 
98  ;  acknowledges  his  wife,  Catherine, 

108  ;  reaches  the  Pruth,  but  retreats, 

109  ;  invades  Sweden  with  fleet,  112  ; 
political  relations  of,  with  Europe,  113  ; 
journeys  to  Paris,  114  ;  visits  Parisian 
workshops,  115  ;  calls  on  Mad.  de  Main- 
tenon,  116  ;  subdues  Sweden  by  Peace  of 
Nystad,  118 ;  becomes  broken  down, 
and  soon  dies,  124  ;  fierce  and  impetu¬ 
ous  nature  of,  125  ;  great  equestrian 
statue  of,  215. 

Peter,  the  Archimandrite,  seeks  death  of 
Tsar,  ii.  121. 

- II.,  proposed  under  regency,  ii.  127 ; 

crowned  at  Moscow,  131  ;  dies  of  small¬ 
pox,  132  ;  doubt  as  to  successor  of,  134. 

-  III.,  accession  of,  to  throne,  ii. 

174;  unexpected  policy  of,  174;  ill 
conduct  of,  in  private,  176;  friend  of 
Frederic  of  Prussia,  177  ;  foolish  devo¬ 
tion  of,  to  Frederic,  178  ;  abdicates  in 
favor  of  wife,  as  Catherine  II.,  180  ; 
killed  by  Alexis  Orlof,  181. 

Petrof,  Anton,  insurrection  under,  iii.  227. 

Philaret  set  free,  and  made  Patriarch,  i. 
350. 

Philip,  Archbishop,  executed  by  Ivan  IV., 
i.  265. 

Pii  ilippson,  Curator,  quits  body  of  stu¬ 
dents,  iii.  248. 

Physicians,  danger  attending  their  pro¬ 
fession,  i.  299  ;  female,  Russian  ladies 
preparing  for,  iii.  255. 

Pisemski,  novelist,  his  work  sketched,  iii. 
260. 

Plains,  vast,  found  in  Russia,  i.  19  ;  of 
Russia,  political  unity  of,  31. 

Planus  Carpinus  describes  Grand  Horde, 

i.  165. 


Plateau,  great,  of  Alauu,  i.  20. 

Plays  become  frequent  in  Russia,  ii.  99. 

Pleischwitz,  armistice  signed  at,  ii.  347. 

Plevna,  second  battle  of,  lost  by  Russians, 
iii.  359  ;  third  battle  at,  lost  by  Rus¬ 
sians,  364  ;  at  last  completely  invested, 
366. 

Poems,  heroic  and  romantic,  frequency  of, 

i.  304. 

Poetry  and  Drama  of  Russia  noticed,  iii. 
267. 

Poland,  united  to  Lithuania,  i.  179  ;  and 
Lithuania,  old  jealousies  of,  i.  358  ; 
Augustus  of,  joins  Russia  against  Swe¬ 
den,  ii.  53  ;  war  recommenced  in,  146  ; 
causes  of  its  final  ruin,  185  ;  national 
weakness  of,  186  ;  religious  difficulties 
of,  188  ;  agonized  by  religious  war,  190  ; 
finally  dismembered  by  Three  Powers, 
195;  progress  of  reforms  in,  233  ;  second 
partition  of,  by  Russia  and  Prussia,  235  ; 
fall  of,  caused  by  aristocracy,  238  ;  last 
dismemberment  and  ruin  of,  244  ;  terri¬ 
tory  of,  entered  by  French,  286  ;  and 
Russia,  hatred  between  soldiers  of,  309  ; 
flourishes  awhile  under  Napoleon,  317  ; 
great  enthusiasm  in,  for  Napoleon,  327  ; 
fourth  partition  of,  362  ;  reconstruction 
of,  367  ;  condition  of,  under  Nicholas, 
iii.  47  ;  revolt  in,  makes  progress,  49  ; 
conspiracy  in,  ready  to  strike,  50  ;  out¬ 
break  of  insurrection  in,  51  ;  insurrec¬ 
tion  in,  fails  at  first,  52 ;  sudden  increase 
of  insurrection  in,  53  ;  efforts  to  stay 
revolt  in,  55  ;  insurgents  in,  mutual  dis¬ 
trust  of,  56  ;  trifling  spirit  of  the  people, 
60  ;  deprived  of  all  nationality,  70  ;  re¬ 
ligious  results  of  depression  of,  71 ;  early 
visit  of  Alexander  II.  to,  210  ;  hopes  for 
improvement  of,  234  ;  insurrection  in, 
gets  desperate,  239  ;  fighting  by  insur¬ 
gents  throughout,  240  ;  end  of  last  re¬ 
volt  in,  245. 

Polatski,  Simeon,  the  Poet  of  Reform,  i. 
393. 

Poles,  in  Moscow,  collide  with  Russians,  i. 
339  ;  defeated  before  Moscow  by  Poyarski, 
343  ;  Russians  make  treaty  with,  350  ; 
defeated  at  Zbarosh,  378  ;  make  treaty 
with  Khmelnitski,  379  ;  have  fresh  suc¬ 
cess  against  Russians,  384. 

Polevoi,  Nikolai,  eminent  editor,  iii.  27. 

Polianka,  Congress  of,  makes  peace  with 
Poland,  i.  354. 

Police,  secret  court  of,  harsh  doings  of, 

ii.  90  ;  abolished,  175. 

Polish  Succession,  diplomacy  as  to,  ii. 
145  ;  fresh  agitation  of,  184. 

Polotsk,  principality  of,  located,  i.  100. 

Poltava,  or  Pultowa,  Charles  XII.  be¬ 
sieges,  ii.  72;  Charles  wounded  before, 
72 ;  moral  effects  of  victory  of,  75. 


404 


INDEX. 


Polykarpof  writes  history  of  Russia,  ii. 

101. 

Poniatovski  becomes  King  of  Poland,  ii. 
185. 

- ,  Joseph,  commands  Polish  army, 

ii.  316. 

Popof,  Admiral,  invents  “  Circular  Moni¬ 
tor,”  iii.  323. 

Population  of  different  parts  of  Russia, 

i.  46. 

Possevins,  Antonio,  Pope’s  legate  to  Rus¬ 
sia,  i.  271. 

Potemkin,  great  success  and  influence  of, 

ii.  204  ;  honors  to,  after  Treaty  of  Con¬ 
stantinople,  224  ;  encouraged  by  Cather¬ 
ine  II.,  227  ;  captures  city  of  Otchakof, 
230  ;  moves  against  Selim  III.,  230. 

Pototski,  Gen. ,  to  lead  Polish  revolt,  iii. 
51. 

Powers,  Great,  check  plans  of  Russia,  iii. 
378. 

-  of  the  West,  embassies  sent  to,  i. 

399. 

Praga,  captured  by  assault,  ii.  243  ;  bat¬ 
tle  of,  Poles  repulsed  at,  iii.  65. 

Prague,  Congress  of,  agreed  to,  ii.  348. 
Pratzen,  desperate  fight  on  plateau  of,  ii. 
282. 

Press,  state  of  censorship  of,  iii.  233  ; 
daily,  development  of,  271  ;  interdicted 
by  police,  273 ;  humorous,  different 
sheets  noticed,  274. 

Printing  patronized  by  Ivan  IV.,  i.  302. 
Productions,  found  in  Russian  commerce. 

i.  293  ;  agricultural,  facts  of,  iii.  252. 
Prokopi  Liapunof  joins  insurrection,  i. 
332. 

Protokol,  London,  signed  and  submitted, 

iii.  345  ;  rejected  by  Turkey,  346. 
Provinces,  benefits  to,  by  new  treaty,  iii. 

378. 

Prussia,  treaty  with,  by  Peter  II.,  ii. 
133  ;  Russia  becomes  jealous  of,  162  ; 
dismembered  by  Napoleon,  293  ;  ar¬ 
rangements  with,  against  Napoleon, 
346  ;  great  discouragements  for,  347  ; 
joins  Russia  against  Poland,  iii.  245. 
Pruth,  Russians  repulsed  from  the,  ii. 
110  ;  Treaty  of  the,  made  with  Baltazhi- 
Mahomet,  110. 

Pskof,  city,  present  state  of,  described,  i. 
140  ;  independence  of,  recognized  by 
Novgorod,  141  ;  city,  taken  by  “  Sword 
Bearers,”  160  ;  poetic  lament  over  fall 
of,  237 ;  sedition  spreads  to  people  of, 
373. 

Public  Opinion,  as  affecting  diplomacy, 

iii.  115. 

Pugatchef  revolts  under  name  of  Peter 
III.,  ii.  199. 

Punishments,  severe  and  terrible,  used,  i. 
286  ;  corporal,  modified,  iii.  232. 


Pushkin,  writer,  his  opinion  of  Charles 
XII.,  ii.  68. 

- ,  Alexander,  greatest  Russian  poet, 

iii.  28. 

Putiatin,  Count,  oppresses  students,  iii. 
247  ;  appealed  to  by  them,  248. 

Q. 

Quakers,  deputation  of,  visit  Alexander 
I.,  ii.  383. 

Quarantine  Battery,  severe  fight  before, 
iii.  182. 

R. 

Raditski,  Gen.,  carries  Shipka  Pass,  iii. 
376. 

Raglan,  Lord,  dies  of  cholera,  iii.  188. 

Railroads,  Russian  system  of,  iii.  250. 

Railways  first  introduced  under  Nicholas, 
iii.  24. 

Rainfall  small  in  Russia,  i.  22. 

Raskolniki,  terrible  fanaticism  of,  ii. 
167  ;  lenient  treatment  of,  175  ;  fanati¬ 
cally  oppose  government,  198  ;  mildly 
treated  by  Alexander  I.,  377. 

Read,  Gen.,  attacks  French  at  Traktir, 
iii.  191. 

Redan,  English  repulsed  from,  iii.  196. 

“  Red  Place,”  great  execution  in,  i.  266. 

Reforms  of  Peter,  opposition  to,  ii.  76  ; 
not  to  cause  social  changes,  77  ;  as  to 
peasantry  and  slaves,  80  ;  as  to  titles  of 
nobility,  82  ;  as  to  seclusion  of  women, 
83  ;  as  to  public  amusements,  84  ;  as  to 
forms  of  government,  85  ;  as  to  minor 
political  affairs,  86  ;  as  to  extortion  in 
office,  87  ;  as  to  civil  law,  88  ;  as  to 
police  and  hospitals,  89  ;  Dolgorukis  re¬ 
act  against,  131. 

- ,  in  Poland  proposed  by  Diet  of 

1791,  ii.  234  ;  begun  and  furthered  by 
Alexander  I.,  375  ;  liberal,  reaction 
against,  384  ;  promised  by  Alexander  II., 
iii.  211 ;  create  remarkable  liberalism, 
213. 

Religion  of  the  Russian  Slavs,  i.  51  ; 
largely  tolerated  by  Peter  I.,  ii.  94. 

“Retribution,”  English  frigate  visits 
Sevastopol,  iii.  136. 

Revenge,  singular  mode  of,  i.  42. 

Revenue,  public,  statistics  of,  iii.  233. 

Revenues  and  living  of  royal  family,  i.  284. 

Reviews,  Russian,  prominent  ones  no¬ 
ticed,  iii.  273. 

Revolts  in  many  States,  Alexander  med¬ 
dles  with,  ii.  371. 

Revolution  of  1741,  significance  of,  ii. 
157  ;  of  1762,  beginnings  of,  179  ;  ideas 
of,  become  prevalent,  389  ;  French,  of 
1848,  consequences  of,  iii.  80. 


INDEX. 


405 


Rhededia,  giant,  slain  by  Iaroslaf,  i.  83. 

Riazan,  ana  Murom,  principality  of,  lo¬ 
cated,  i.  98  ;  battle  of,  and  great  defeat 
of  Russians,  154  ;  and  Novgorod- Severski 
joined  to  Moscow,  237. 

Richelieu  succeeds  Talleyrand,  ii.  365. 

Riesenkampf  remarks  on  Russian  trade, 
i.  137. 

Rittich,  views  of,  as  to  native  tribes,  i. 
35. 

Rivers,  found  in  Russia,  i.  23  ;  great  im¬ 
portance  of,  24 ;  and  lakes,  system  of, 
25. 

Roman,  of  Volhynia,  conquers  Galitch,  i. 
123. 

Rosen,  Gen.,  defeated  by  Poles  at  Igani, 
iii.  66. 

Rostoptchin  reviles  the  French,  ii.  300. 

- ,  Governor  of  Moscow,  his  charac¬ 
ter,  ii.  835  ;  contrives  to  inspirit  the 
people,  336  ;  proclamation  of,  after  Bor¬ 
odino,  336. 

Rous8ET,  writer,  describes  fall  of  Sevas¬ 
topol,  iii.  193. 

Ruileef  and  Pestel,  republican  leaders,  ii. 
390. 

Rumania,  joins  Russia  against  Turkey, 
iii.  349  ;  troops  of,  reinforce  Russians, 
361. 

Rumiantsof  defeats  Turks  at  Kahul,  ii. 
193. 

Ruric,  first  Yariag  prince,  i.  65. 

“  Ruskaia  Pravda,”  or  Code  of  Iaroslaf, 
i.  84. 

Russell,  W.  H.,  remarks  on  fall  of  Sevas¬ 
topol,  iii.  197  ;  describes  powder  explo¬ 
sion,  199. 

Russia,  compared  with  rest  of  Europe,  i. 
17  ;  numerous  seas  of,  18  ;  mountains 
and  surface  of,  19  ;  White,  limits  de¬ 
fined,  45  ;  Great,  Little,  Red,  and  Black 
defined,  46  ;  distributed  into  principal¬ 
ities,  96  ;  early  unity  of  race  and  lan¬ 
guage,  101  ;  capital  centre  of,  changed, 
112  ;  invaded  by  Mongols  in  13th  cen¬ 
tury,  149 ;  intestine  troubles  in,  167  ; 
laws  of,  as  affected  by  Mongols,  170  ; 
religious  heads  of,  at  Moscow  and  Kief, 
183  ;  Eastern,  gathered  round  Moscow, 
185 ;  condition  of,  at  death  of  Yasili,  216 ; 
historians  of,  estimate  of  Ivan  IY.,  244  ; 
condition  of,  at  accession  of  Ivan  IY., 
245  ;  rapid  extension  of  power  of,  256  ; 
diplomatic  position  of,  under  Feodor, 
313  ;  and  Poland,  with  Sweden,  all  at 
war,  314  ;  and  Poland,  mutual  attitude 
after  Mikhail,  357  ;  general  ignorance 
and  superstition  in,  324  ;  provinces  of, 
troubled  and  demoralized,  331  ;  condi¬ 
tion  of,  at  end  of  Polish  war,  345  ;  im¬ 
plores  help  from  England,  348  ;  repudi¬ 
ates  union  with  Rome,  364  ;  Little,  its 


oppressed  people  look  to  Tsar,  369  ; 
greatness  of,  in  service  of  Peter,  ii.  79  ; 
divided  by  parties  after  Peter’s  death, 
127  ;  virtually  ruled  by  Germans,  139  ; 
makes  treaty  with  Poland,  189  ;  with¬ 
draws  troops  from  Warsaw,  189  ;  prog¬ 
ress  of,  under  Catherine  II.,  211  ;  and 
France,  difficulties  between,  251  ;  and 
France  operate  in  European  affairs,  274  ; 
immense  army  raised  by,  286  ;  debate  as 
to  policy  of,  344 ;  and  England,  under¬ 
standing  between,  363  ;  meets  contempt 
at  Madrid,  372  ;  new  plans  for  govern¬ 
ment  of,  380  ;  laws  of,  codified  by  Nich¬ 
olas  I.,  iii.  22  ;  history  of,  by  Ustrialof, 
26  ;  troops  of,  enter  Austria,  81  ;  inter¬ 
feres  in  favor  of  Denmark,  84  ;  publishes 
secret  correspondence,  99 ;  seeks  to  di¬ 
vide  France  and  England,  107  ;  fresh 
diplomatic  efforts  to  conciliate,  118  ;  be¬ 
trays  real  design  on  Turkey,  122  ;  de¬ 
clines  mediation  of  Austria,  133  ;  ques¬ 
tions  France  and  England,  136 ;  fails 
of  alliance  with  Prussia,  139  ;  receives 
ultimatum  of  Allies,  142  ;  popular  feel¬ 
ing  in,  after  death  of  Nicholas,  171  ; 
serious  losses  of,  by  Treaty  of  Paris, 
206  ;  foreign  ships  admitted  to  ports  of, 
208 ;  popular  call  for  improvement  in,  214; 
territorial  policy  of,  282  ;  facile  charac¬ 
ter  of  soldiers  of,  303  ;  keeps  Italy  and 
Denmark  from  Franco-Prussian  War,  313; 
feeling  of,  after  above  war,  314  ;  popular 
voice  of,  against  Prussia,  315  ;  jealousy 
of,  toward  Prussia,  316  ;  demands  truce 
for  Serbia,  342  ;  moves  for  correcting 
Turkish  misrule,  342  ;  threatening  atti¬ 
tude  of,  toward  Turkey,  343  ;  prepares 
to  march  upon  Turkey,  347  ;  popular 
discontent  in,  382  ;  disappointed  in  her 
new  ruler,  387  ;  reflections  on  destiny 
of,  388. 

Russia,  army  of,  Swedes  defeat  at  Narva, 
ii.  55  ;  defeated  at  Friedland,  292  ;  en¬ 
ters  Turkey,  iii.  117  ;  force  and  position 
of,  153  ;  commanders  of,  noticed,  161  ; 
great  sortie  of,  fails,  180  ;  modern  plan 
of  recruiting,  321  ;  first  draft  to  recruit, 
322. 

- ,  fleet  of,  destroyed  by  storm,  i.  66  ; 

defeats  Turkish  vessels,  ii.  229 ;  taken 
by  Admiral  Cotton,  306. 

- ,  people  of,  combine  to  stop  civil 

war,  i.  341  ;  terrible  ignorance  of,  ii. 
198  ;  incline  to  liberal  ideas,  387  ;  apt¬ 
ness  of,  to  learn,  iii.  252. 

Russian,  character,  energy  of,  i.  48  ;  capi¬ 
tal  upon  Danube  proposed,  72  ;  warriors 
disguised  as  merchants,  89  ;  Christian¬ 
ity,  sources  and  influence  of,  90  ;  Chris¬ 
tianity,  moral  effects  of,  92. 

Russians  proper,  proportion  to  other 


406 


INDEX. 


tribes,  i.  45  ;  drive  Asiatic  Turks  into 
Kars,  iii.  128 ;  attacked  by  Turks  at 
Tchetat,  130  ;  gain  something  at  Balak- 
lava,  166 ;  prepare  to  attack  Allies, 
190  ;  defeated  at  Traktir  Bridge,  191. 


S. 

Saardam,  Peter  works  at  boat-building 
in,  ii.  35. 

Sacrifices,  human,  tribes  charged  with, 

i.  42. 

Sadko,  merchant  of  Novgorod,  story  of,  i. 
139. 

Saint-Martin,  views  of,  as  to  native 
tribes,  i.  35. 

Saint-Simon,  gives  character  of  Peter,  ii. 

114  ;  remarks  on  Russian  alliance,  116. 
Saints  made  by  Russian  Church  from  old 
gods,  i.  53. 

Salisbury,  Lord,  as  to  new  treaty  provi¬ 
sions,  iii.  379. 

Salonica,  consuls  murdered  at,  iii.  332. 
SAxMARCANd,  city  of,  noticed,  iii.  292. 
Samokvasof,  ancient  dwellings  found  by, 

i.  57. 

San  Stefano,  Treaty  of,  amended  at 
Berlin,  iii.  379. 

Schlitte,  the  Saxon,  sent  to  Germany,  i. 
257. 

Sciionbrunn,  Treaty  of,  makes  fresh  war, 

ii.  284  ;  Congress  of,  its  results,  310. 
Schools,  first  founded  by  Vladimir,  i.  81  ; 

technical,  established  by  Peter,  ii.  98  ; 
system  of,  undertaken  by  Alexander. 
378. 

Schuyler,  Eugene,  remarks  on  Central 
Asia,  iii.  286  ;  as  to  Russian  attitude, 
315. 

Science,  retrograde  fortune  of,  in  Rus¬ 
sia,  ii.  385. 

Scriptures,  Slavonic,  revised  by  Nikon, 
i.  390. 

Sculptors,  eminent,  belonging  to  Russia, 

iii.  275. 

Scythians,  ancient  barbarous  habits  of, 

i.  33. 

Sea-Fights,  several,  won  against  Swedes, 

ii.  58. 

Seas,  numerous,  found  in  Russia,  i.  18. 
“Secret  Convention,”  by  France  and 
Russia,  ii.  273  ;  signed  at  Erfurt,  305. 
Selim  III.  deposed  by  Janissaries,  ii.  312. 
Senate,  founded  by  Peter,  ii.  85  ;  re¬ 
established  as  at  first,  167  ;  made  Court 
of  Revision,  iii.  231. 

Seraphim  and  Evgeni  abused  by  insur¬ 
gents,  iii.  18. 

Serbia,  massacre  of  Christians  in,  ii.  311 ; 
threatening  movements  of,  iii.  840  ; 
forces  of,  defeated  by  Turks,  341. 


Serfdom,  great  men  working  to  destroy, 

iii.  34. 

Serfs,  intolerable  condition  of,  i.  366  ; 
emancipation  of,  Speranski  favors,  ii. 
381  ;  debate  on  emancipation  of,  iii. 
218;  numbers  and  situation  of,  219; 
their  own  estimate  of  their  condition, 
220  ;  approaching  freedom  of,  221  ;  how 
organized  after  emancipation,  226  ;  some 
of,  refuse  terms  of  freedom,  227. 

Sergius,  St.,  patron  of  Muscovite  princes, 
i.  204. 

Sevastopol,  visited  by  Alexander  I.,  ii. 
398  ;  Allies  proceed  to,  iii.  151  ;  topog¬ 
raphy  of,  157  ;  account  of  city  of,  158  ; 
fortifications  of,  159  ;  landward  defences 
of,  finished,  162  ;  bombarded  a  second 
time,  181  ;  a  third  time  bombarded, 
185;  fourth  bombardment  of,  186  ; 
bridge  built  in  harbor  of,  189  ;  fifth  and 
last  bombardment  of,  193  ;  evacuated 
by  Russians,  196  ;  final  destruction  of 
works  at,  200. 

Seymour,  English  minister,  his  interview 
with  Nicholas,  iii.  88. 

Shagan,  Joseph,  his  account  of  the  Kha- 
zarui,  i.  43. 

Shah  Indeh,  mosque  in  memory  of,  iii. 
292. 

Shakhavskoi  proclaims  a  new  Pretender, 
i.  332. 

Shamyl,  leader  of  mountain  tribes,  iii. 
42  ;  becomes  leader  of  the  Murids,  284  ; 
wonderful  escapes  and  final  capture  of, 
284  ;  dies  a  captive  at  Kaluga,  285. 

Shemiaka,  attacks  Moscow,  i.  212  ;  evacu¬ 
ates  same,  213. 

Sheremetief,  made  Field  Marshal,  ii. 

57  ;  defeats  Swedes  at  Errestfer,  57 ; 
again  defeats  them  at  Hummelsdorff, 

58  ;  quells  revolt  at  Astrakhan,  60. 

Siiipka  Pass,  evacuated  by  Turks,  iii. 

355 ;  Turks  fail  to  recapture,  362. 

Ships,  Peter  builds,  on  the  Don,  ii.  29  ; 
foreign,  admitted  to  Russian  ports,  iii. 
208. 

Shuvalof,  Ivan,  promotes  literature,  ii. 
168  ;  sent  with  Napoleon  to  Elba,  360. 

Siber,  Siberian  capital,  taken  by  Irmak, 
i.  277. 

Sieravski,  Gen.,  defeated  by  Russians, 
iii.  66. 

Sigismond,  prevented  from  crowning  Vi¬ 
to  vt,  i.  183  ;  threatens  English  trade, 
281. 

- of  Poland,  besieges  Smolensk,  336  ; 

plans  treachery  against  Russia,  338  ; 
invited  to  enter  Moscow,  339  ;  cap¬ 
tures  Smolensk  and  takes  Vasili,  340. 

Silistria  unsuccessfully  besieged  by  Rus¬ 
sians,  iii.  147. 

Silvester,  priest,  minister  of  Ivan  IV., 


INDEX. 


407 


!  251  ;  and  Adashef,  quarrel  with  Ivan 
IV.,  258  ;  banished  from  court,  260  ; 
his  “  Domostroi,”  or  Rules  of  Society, 
301. 

Simeon  the  Proud,  succeeds  Ivan  Kalita, 

i.  195  ;  styled  “  Grand  Prince  of  all  the 
Russians,”  196 ;  encourages  arts  and 
manufactures,  196. 

Simpson,  Gen.  James,  succeeds  Lord  Rag¬ 
lan,  iii.  188. 

Sineus  and  Truvor,  Yariag  princes,  i.  65. 
Sinope,  battle  of,  causes  general  indigna¬ 
tion,  iii.  134. 

Sistova,  passage  forced  and  captured  by 
Russians,  iii.  353. 

Sit,  battle  of,  and  Iuri  II.  slain,  i.  155. 
Skobelef,  Gen.,  saves  Russians  at  Plevna, 
iii.  360 ;  hardships  of,  at  Plevna,  365  ; 
brilliant  assault  of,  at  Shenovo,  376. 
Skoropadski,  last  hetman  of  Ukraina,  ii. 
50. 

Skrzynetski,  Gen.,  succeeds  to  Polish 
command,  iii.  65  ;  repulsed  at  Ostro- 
lenka,  66. 

Slaves  held  by  most  Russians,  i.  89. 
Smolensk,  principality  of,  located,  i.  97  ; 
attacked  and  taken  by  Vasili,  238  ; 
and  Krasnoe,  hard  fighting  at,  ii.  330  ; 
evacuated  by  the  French,  341. 

Sobieski  becomes  King  of  Poland,  i.  387. 
Societies  and  Orders,  increase  of,  in  Rus¬ 
sia,  ii.  389. 

Society,  in  Novgorod,  constitution  of,  i. 
135  ;  minor  relations  of,  293  ;  of  the 
North,  action  of,  iii.  15  ;  agricultural, 
of  Poland,  235  ;  agricultural,  broken 
up,  237. 

Softas,  revolt  of,  at  Constantinople,  iii. 
337. 

Sokovnim  and  other  conspirators  subdued, 

ii.  32. 

Soldiery  opposed  to  Christianity,  i.  70. 
Solintkof  defeats  Prussians,  ii.  165. 
Solovief  attempts  life  of  Emperor,  iii. 
382. 

Soloviof,  opinion  of,  as  to  Ivan  III.,  i. 
234. 

Songs,  ancient  Tchud,  deploring  slavery, 

i.  146. 

Sophia,  determines  to  become  Regent,  ii. 
14  ;  flattered  by  writers,  15  ;  triumphs 
and  becomes  Regent,  17  ;  has  her  seat 
behind  the  throne,  18  ;  quarrels  with 
Peter,  22  ;  seeks  to  supplant  Peter,  24  ; 
banished  to  a  monastery,  26  ;  conspires 
against  Peter,  32  ;  stirs  up  trouble  with 
Streltsui,  41 ;  imprisoned  in  convent,  44. 
- of  Anhalt  becomes  Catherine  II., 

ii.  178. 

- Naruishkin,  death  of,  ii.  396. 

Speranski,  Mikhail,  notice  of,  ii.  297  ; 
made  Secretary  of  State,  298 ;  sud¬ 


denly  disgraced,  323  ;  advancement  and 
influence  of,  379  ;  plans  for  constitu¬ 
tional  changes,  380 ;  reforms  of,  meet 
opposition,  381. 

St.  Petersburg,  decided  foundation  of, 

ii.  101  ;  built  on  islands,  102  ;  inundated 
by  Neva,  104  ;  more  progressive  than 
Moscow,  104  ;  joy  in,  for  victory  over 
Swedes,  118  ;  return  to,  obtained  by 
Ostermann,  143  ;  terrible  flood  covers, 
395. 

States-General  convened  to  elect  Tsar, 
i.  318. 

Statistics,  eminent  students  of,  in  Rus¬ 
sia,  iii.  280. 

Stein,  German  patriot,  advanced  by  Alex¬ 
ander,  ii.  323 ;  and  Anslett,  obtain 
Treaty  of  Kalish,  345. 

Stenko  Razin  ravages  Eastern  Russia, 
i.  388  ;  finally  defeated  by  Boriatinski, 
388. 

Stephen  Batory  made  King  of  Poland, 
i.  270. 

Steppes,  of  Kirghiz,  i.  20 ;  arable,  zone 
of,  29  ;  barren,  region  of,  29. 

Stolbovo,  Peace  of,  by  Russia  and  Swe¬ 
den,  i.  349. 

Stone,  houses  of,  forbidden  save  in  St. 
Petersburg,  ii.  103. 

Stones,  every  boat  forced  to  bring  to  St. 
Petersburg,  ii.  103. 

Stratford,  Lord,  seeks  to  restrain  Men* 
shikof,  iii.  111. 

Streltsui,  revolt  of,  against  Matveef,  ii. 
16‘;  surrender  to  Sophia,  19  ;  arrested 
by  Romodanovski,  42 ;  executed  at 
wholesale  by  Peter,  43. 

Strogonoff,  Gregory,  gets  lands  on  the 
Kama,  i.  277. 

Students,  Turkish,  urge  Sultan  to  war, 

iii.  124  ;  Russian,  trouble  excited  with, 
247. 

Suffrage  first  promoted  by  Nicholas  I., 

iii.  23. 

Suleiman  Pasha  attacks  Shipka  Pass, 
iii.  361. 

Superstitions  indulged  in  all  Russia,  i. 
299. 

Suvarof,  Prince,  replaces  Count  Putia- 
tin,  249. 

Suvorof,  or  Suwarrow,  relieves  Prince  of 
Koburg,  ii.  230  ;  takes  Praga  by  assault, 
243  ;  his  contempt  of  Prussian  styles, 
250  ;  recalled  from  retirement,  254  ;  his 
action  as  Marshal  of  Austria,  255  ;  his 
famous  passage  through  the  Alps,  260  ; 
story  of  his  wonderful  retreat,  260. 

Suzdal,  principality  of,  located,  i.  99. 

Sviatoslaf,  important  reign  of,  i.  70  ; 
wages  Bulgarian  War,  71  ;  takes  trib¬ 
ute  from  Greeks,  71  ;  declines  duel  with 
Zimisces,  75  ;  evacuates  Greek  frontier, 


408 


INDEX. 


75 ;  slain  by  Petchenegi,  76  ;  portrait 
of,  by  Leo  the  Deacon,  76. 

Sweden,  movements  of  Patkul  in,  ii.  52  ; 
urges  war  with  Russia,  117  ;  affairs 
with,  get  complicated,  158  ;  threatened 
by  Russia  and  Prussia,  196  ;  fleet  of, 
repulsed  at  Hogland,  228. 

Sword-Bearers,  Order  of,  founded,  i. 
144. 

Swords,  ancient,  stoiy  of,  from  Nestor,  i. 
58. 

“  System  of  the  North,”  of  Catherine  II., 
ii.  183 ;  abandoned  by  Russia,  221. 


T. 

Talitski  writes  against  Peter,  ii.  93. 
Talleyrand,  plan  of,  to  break  Coalition, 
ii.  319. 

Tamerlane  becomes  chief  of  Mongols, 
i.  203  ;  attempts  to  invade  Russia,  207. 
Tashkent,  great  city  of  Turkestan,  iii. 

289  ;  city  of,  taken  by  Abramof,  298. 
Tatar  Hordes,  dissensions  among,  i.  224  ; 

broken  up  by  strategy,  226. 

Tatars,  or  Tartars,  characters  of,  by 
Chinese,  i.  150 ;  retire  from  Russia, 
153;  invasions  of,  results  to  Russia, 
158  ;  take  census  of  Novgorod,  163  ; 
imposts  of,  resisted  by  Russians,  163  ; 
hold  complete  rule  in  Russia,  168  ;  tol¬ 
erate  all  religions,  172  ;  further  trouble 
with,  240  ;  ravage  open  country,  241  ; 
and  Turks,  besiege  Astrakhan,  268  ;  and 
other  nations,  relations  to  Russia,  319  ; 
invade  Nova  Serbia,  ii.  191. 

Taxes,  system  of  assessing  and  collecting, 

i.  293  ;  management  of,  under  Peter, 

ii.  91. 

Tchartoriuski,  memorial  to  Alexander 
I.,  ii.  285. 

Tchernichef,  envoy  to  Napoleon,  ii.  322. 
Tchernigof,  principality  located,  i.  98. 
“TcHiN,”or  Order  of  Rank,  fixed  by 
Peter,  ii.  82  ;  table  of,  400. 

Tchorlu,  last  battle  of  the  war  at,  iii. 
377. 

Telegraph,  extension  of,  outlined,  iii. 
251. 

Temperature,  great  range  of,  i.  22. 
Temples  and  priests  not  in  early  history, 
i.  52. 

Temutchin,  or  Ghenghis  Khan,  conquests 
of,  i.  151. 

Terletski,  Bishop,  made  Deputy  Patri¬ 
arch,  i.  362  ;  intrigues  with  Sigismond, 
363. 

Teutonic  Knights,  Order  of,  founded,  i. 

146  ;  attacked  by  Yitovt,  182. 
Theatre,  first,  founded  by  Yolkof,  ii. 

171. 


Thiers,  M.,  his  fruitless  mission  to  Ru» 
sia,  iii.  314. 

Thieves  and  extortioners  punished  by 
Peter,  ii.  87. 

“  Three  Emperors,”  battle  of,  described, 
ii.  281 ;  conference  of,  at  Berlin,  iii. 
320. 

Tilsit,  remarkable  conference  at,  ii.  293  ; 

treaty  of,  general  terms  of,  294. 
Timmermann  teaches  Peter  use  of  boats, 

ii.  23. 

Timur  defeats  Vitovt  on  the  Vorskla,  i. 
181. 

Todleben,  Gen.,  ordered  to  invest 
Plevna,  iii.  365. 

Tokhtamuish,  puts  Mamai  to  death,  i. 

203  ;  sacks  and  bums  Moscow,  203. 
Tolstoi,  Count  Alexis,  dramatist,  iii. 
266. 

- ,  Leof,  writer  of  romance,  iii.  266. 

Towns,  new,  many  founded  by  Catherine 
II.,  ii.  210. 

Tradition  as  to  subjection  of  Mordva, 
i.  121. 

Traditionary  literature,  abundance  of, 
i.  303. 

Travel,  excellent  Russian  works  upon, 

iii.  279. 

Travellers  in  Russia,  older,  noticed,  i. 
300. 

Trebia,  Macdonald  repulsed  at,  ii.  257. 
Trediakovski,  works  and  troubles  of,  ii. 
170. 

Trees  found  in  Northern  Russia,  i.  28. 
Trepof,  Gen.,  shot  by  Sasulitch,  iii.  382. 
Tribes,  ancient,  according  to  Herodotus, 
i.  35  ;  ancient,  compared  with  modern, 
35  ;  outlying,  on  Russian  frontier,  143. 
Tributes,  mode  of  exacting  and  collect¬ 
ing,  i.  88. 

Troitsa,  Convent  of,  besieged,  i.  334. 
Tundras,  region  of,  i.  21. 

Turgenief,  writes  against  serfdom,  iii. 
34  ;  novelist,  his  character  noted,  258  ; 
attacks  Socialism,  263. 

Turkestan,  government  of,  re-created, 
iii.  299 ;  Eastern,  recovered  by  Chinese, 
303. 

Turkey  declares  war  against  Poland,  i. 
353  ;  declares  war  with  Russia,  ii.  107, 
192,  227  ;  fleet  of,  defeated  at  Chios  and 
Tchesmi,  193  ;  makes  hasty  peace  with 
Russia,  196  ;  war  with,  freshly  urged, 
229  ;  seeks  favor  with  Napoleon,  310  ; 
finally  reduces  Serbia,  313 ;  shelters 
Hungarian  refugees,  iii.  83  ;  relations  of, 
discussed  by  Russia  and  England,  93  ; 
proposal  of  Nicholas  I.  to  partition,  94  ; 
state  of,  at  Menshikof ’s  visit,  104  ;  pro¬ 
gress  of  diplomacy  in,  109  ;  asks 
changes  in  “Vienna  Expedient, *  120  ; 
wisdom  of  its  Cabinet  made  plain,  122  ; 


INDEX. 


409 


Great  Council  of,  again  reject  “  Vienna 
Expedient,”  125;  integrity  of,  main¬ 
tained  by  Treaty  of  Paris,  204  ;  attrac¬ 
tive  reforms  ottered  by,  327  ;  finances 
of,  embarrassed  state  of,  328  ;  increas¬ 
ing  difficulties  of,  with  insurgents,  331  ; 
indorses  atrocities  in  Bulgaria,  334  ;  re¬ 
jects  proposals  of  Conference,  344  ;  re¬ 
plies  to  manifesto  of  Russia,  348. 
Turkish  Army  occupies  Eupatoria,  iii. 
168. 

Turkmantchai,  Peace  of,  ends  Persian 
War,  iii.  37. 

Turkomans,  doubtful  status  of,  iii.  302. 
Turks,  movements  of  the  Powers  against, 

ii.  20  ;  wanton  barbarity  of,  at  Plevna, 

iii.  364  ;  agree  to  armistice  and  basis  of 
peace,  377. 

Tushino,  insurgents  of,  join  Sigismond, 
i.  336. 

Tver,  insurrection  at,  against  Mongols,  i. 

191  ;  House  of,  new  struggle  with,  199. 
Tverdillo  betrays  Pskof  to  Livonians,  i. 
140. 

U. 

Ukraina,  hardy  and  free  people  of,  i.  367 ; 
ceded  to  Russia,  399  ;  Charles  XII. 
approaches  Russia  by  way  of,  ii.  70  ; 
Jews  and  Catholics  persecuted  in,  190. 
Union  of  Lublin,  consequences  of,  i.  359. 
United  States  brings  home  Kossuth,  iii. 
83  ;  continued  friendliness  with  Russia, 
307  ;  purchases  Territory  of  Alaska, 
307. 

Ussum  Hassan  allies  with  Ivan  III.,  i. 
224. 

Ustrialof,  writer,  his  opinion  of  Feodor, 

i.  311  ;  writes  History  of  Russia,  iii. 
26. 

V. 

Valdai,  plateau  of,  great  river  source,  i. 
24. 

Valley  of  the  Dwina,  noticed,  i.  20. 
Vanka  Kain,  notorious  robber,  ii.  168. 
Variagi,  tribe  of,  traced  and  defined,  i. 
60  ;  further  defined,  61 ;  habits  and  dis¬ 
positions  of,  63  ;  name  of  Russia  given 
by,  64. 

Varna,  allied  camp  at,  broken  up,  iii. 
150. 

Vases,  ancient,  of  silver  and  gold,  i.  34. 
Vasili,  combat  of,  at  Novgorod,  i.  139  ; 
succeeds  Dmitri  in  Moscow,  205  ;  makes 
treaty  with  Vitovt,  209. 

- ,  the  Blind,  succeeds  to  throne  in 

Moscow,  i.  210  ;  troubles  of,  with  Iuri, 
211  ;  returns  to  Moscow,  212  ;  denoun¬ 
ces  union  with  Rome,  215. 


Vasili  Galitsuin,  minister  for  Sophia, 

ii.  20. 

-  Ivanovitch,  arrests  magistrates 

of  Pskof,  i.  235  ;  humbles  Pskof  and 
ends  republic,  235  ;  quarrels  with  Sigis¬ 
mond,  238  ;  establishes  fair  at  Maka- 
rief,  241  ;  strengthens  himself  as  Auto¬ 
crat,  242. 

-  Shuiski,  denounces  the  False 

Dmitri,  i.  327  ;  conspires  against  Otre- 
pief,  329  ;  succeeds  to  throne,  330 ; 
makes  alliance  with  Sweden,  335  ;  ab¬ 
dicates  throne  of  Russia,  337. 

Vengrov,  battle  of,  fought  with  insurgent 
Poles,  iii.  241. 

Venice,  negotiations  with,  by  Ivan  III., 
i.  232. 

Verona,  Congress  of,  assembled,  ii.  372. 

Viasma,  battle  of,  won  by  Ney  and  Eu¬ 
gene,  ii.  341. 

Viatka,  new  colony  formed  from  Nov¬ 
gorod,  i.  141. 

Victor  Emanuel,  made  King  of  Italy, 

iii.  310  ;  recognized  by  Russia,  310. 

Victoria  of  England  visits  with  Louis 

Napoleon,  iii.  179. 

Vienna,  Conference  of,  contrives  pacific 
expedient,  iii.  119  ;  attempts  mediation, 
132. 

- ,  Great  Conference  of,  iii.  178  ;  fails, 

179. 

- ,  Peace  of,  ends  Polish  War,  ii.  147. 

Vikulof  becomes  hermit  author,  ii.  93. 

Villages  and  Communes,  nature  of,  i. 
56. 

Vilna,  terror  and  destruction  at,  ii.  344. 

Vinno  de  Rohrbach,  Grand  Master,  i. 
144. 

Vitovt,  besieges  Castle  of  Vilna,  i.  180  ; 
betrays  Iuri  and  pillages  Smolensk,  180  ; 
brings  great  force  against  Tatars,  181  ; 
gains  battle  of  Tannenberg,  182. 

Vladimir,  early  character  of,  i.  77  ;  mar¬ 
ries  Rogneda,  78  ;  examines  all  re¬ 
ligions,  79  ;  besieges  Kherson,  79  ;  is 
baptized  and  marries  Anna,  80  ;  de¬ 
stroys  idols  and  baptizes  people,  80. 

- and  Evfrosinia  executed,  i.  265. 

- Monomakh  succeeds  to  throne, 

i.  106  ;  advice  of,  to  his  sons,  107  ; 
people  of,  subdue  Suzdal,  119. 

Vladislaus  of  Poland,  proposes  for 
throne,  i.  337  ;  invades  Moscow,  350. 

Volga,  River  and  branches,  i.  26  ;  early 
civilization  upon,  27 ;  Dnieper,  and 
Neva,  influence  of,  28. 

V olhynia,  principality  located,  i.  100. 

Volkof,  minister  of  Peter  III.,  humanity 
of,  ii.  175. 

Voltaire,  as  to  Catherine  II.,  ii.  182  ; 
close  correspondent  of  Catherine  II., 

I  215. 


410 


INDEX. 


Voluinski/  character  of,  by  Solovief,  ii. 
150 ;  famous  jest  upon,  by  Kurakin, 
151  ;  convicted  of  conspiracy,  151  ; 
executed  for  same,  152. 

Vorontschof,  predictions  of,  as  to  Prus¬ 
sia,  ii.  163. 

Vsevolod,  ambitious  reign  of,  i.  119. 

- ,  Gabriel,  exiled  from  Novgorod,  i. 

130  ;  first  ruler  of  Pskof,  140. 


W. 

Wallace,  English  traveller,  observations 
of,  i.  50  ;  remarks  on  the  Tsars,  172. 

- ,  Mackenzie,  remarks  on  serfage, 

iii.  223. 

War,  civil,  of  Oleg,  ended  by  peace,  i. 
105  ;  of  David  of  Volhynia,  105  ;  triple, 
arising  from  Peace  of  Tilsit,  ii.  306  ; 
opened  by  Turkey  at  Isaktcha,  iii.  127. 

Warsaw,  Polish  insurrection  reaches,  ii. 
240  ;  terrible  riots  in,  iii.  68,  286,  237  ; 
invested  by  Paskievitch,  68  ;  finally 
entered  and  subdued,  69. 

- ,  Diet  of,  seeks  to  amend  Consti¬ 
tution,  ii.  233  ;  action  of,  as  to  revolt, 
iii.  59  ;  ruled  by  insurgents,  63. 

W idows,  burning  of,  for  dead  husbands, 
i.  53. 

Willoughby,  and  Chancellor,  sail  for 
North  Sea,  i.  272  ;  lost  with  his  two 
vessels,  273. 


Wilmot,  Miss,  ridicules  French  and  Rus¬ 
sians,  ii.  302. 

Wilson,  English  envoy,  denounces  Peace 
of  Tilsit,  ii.  295. 

Winds,  great  influence  of,  in  Russia,  i. 

21. 

Women,  treatment  of,  in  ancient  times, 
i.  55  ;  secluded  and  tyrannized  over, 
295 ;  abject  condition  of,  in  Russia, 
296  ;  freed  from  seclusion  by  Peter,  ii. 
83. 

Y. 

Ypsilanti  defeated  by  Turks,  ii.  373. 

Z. 

Zaliysri,  revolutionist  leader  in  Poland, 
iii.  48. 

Zaporoshtsui,  wild  tribes  of  the  Dnieper, 
i.  368;  tribe  of,  extinguished,  ii.  201. 

Zarutski  captured  and  executed,  i.  346. 

Ziierkievitcii,  writer,  as  to  Kutusof,  ii. 
342. 

Zhukovski,  eminent  Russian  translator, 
iii.  32. 

Zielentse,  battle  of,  fought  by  Ponia- 
towski,  ii.  236. 

Zimisces,  John,  gains  fight  at  Dorostol, 
i.  75  ;  challenges  Sviatoslaf  to  duel,  75. 

Zorndorff,  Russians  beaten  at,  ii.  165. 

Zubof  sent  against  Mohammed,  ii.  247. 

Zurich,  Massena  wins  victory  at,  ii.  259. 


From  the  sentence  “Toward  the  end  of  the  year,  ”  on  page  86,  unto  the  end  of 
Chapter  V.,  page  126,  in  Volume  III.,  is  mainly  a  paraphrase  from  Camille  Rousset’s 
admirable  history  of  the  Crimean  War. 


